The Children of Grace: Shadows of the Past
by Flamepaw
Summary: It has been several years since the Great Battle, but now things are stirring in New Rome. With everyone grown up, it's up to the next generation to discover the truth and save Camp Jupiter from destruction.
1. Reyna I

_Hello all big and small! I know this isn't exactly the Jeyna oneshots I said I was going to write, but when I sat down to write some this kept fighting its way to the surface. So much for my retirement from fan fiction O.o _

_This story is set up similarly to The Heroes of Olympus series with points views from Jason, Reyna and their children, who you will meet later in this chapter. _

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**REYNA**

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**_It was a bell that started_** it all. Reyna had been sleeping, curled up safe and warm in her husband's arms, when she first heard it. It rang only once, but it echoed through the stone streets and ricocheted against the brick walls framing the city, so by the time it reached her window it chimed as clear as Lupa's howl.

Reyna shot up immediately. Her heart pounded like she had just woken up from a nightmare, only she couldn't remember was she was dreaming of. Something was wrong. Every fiber of her being told her so.

There was nothing but darkness surrounding her. Cool, calm darkness that Reyna usually found peace where most people found fright, but not tonight. She reached across the bed to the side table and turned up the dial of the lamp. The flame responded immediately, filling her room with light.

There was nothing in the room that screamed trouble. No big hairy monster staring at her, no fire threating to destroy her house, or power-hungry centurion holding a knife over her throat. Yet, there was a little voice in the back of her head screaming at her to get up and investigate.

Reyna turned and shook the large lump sleeping next to her. "Jason, wake up."

"What?" Jason stuttered jumping up. "What's wrong?"

She hesitated for a moment before replying. "I thought I heard the alarm bell."

He glanced at the window. "Well, I don't hear it now."

"No," Reyna agreed slowly. "It only ringed once."

"Well, if the city was in danger they would ring it more than once. Three times to be exact. Article IV, Section I, Praetor Reyna," Jason teased her flickering her nose with his finger.

She rolled her eyes at him. It had been a while since someone called her Praetor Reyna, but the title still made her heart jump. "I know the city's laws, Jason. Honestly, I surprised you still do. They weren't really engraved in your head in the first place."

"If that was some kind of sly comment about my age let me remind you are just as old as me," Jason muttered lying back down.

Reyna wasn't in the mood to play games, nor did she want to forget about it and go back to sleep. Jason's reaction wasn't exactly idea, but it had been a long time since there has been any call for alarm. But Reyna's mind won't let her rest. Sighing, Reyna threw back the covers and began the daunting task of searching her slippers under the bed. It wasn't long before she felt Jason's hand on her back.

"Reyna, it probably was nothing. Some newbie on his first night watch thinking he saw the Titian army when it was really was a squirrel. It happens."

"It never happened when I was praetor," Reyna mumbled. If it turns out that she got this worked up over a squirrel, well, there will be blood.

Jason smiled at her. "Yes, well you always were irreplaceable."

After so many years together Reyna would have thought she would have built up immunity to Jason's lines, but sadly that was not the case. She turned her face back the search for her slippers so that Jason wouldn't see her smile.

"Or perhaps you were just dreaming," Jason added. "I know you have been having a hard time with August just around the corner−"

"That has nothing to do with this," Reyna snapped. She grabbed her slippers and shoved them into her feet. "This is why I never tell you anything. You always feel the need to bring it up every single time I get the tiniest bit emotional about something."

"You? Emotional?" Jason mocked. "No one would ever accuse you of that."

Reyna made sure she gave him a threatening glare as she stood up.

"Reyna−"

"I'm going to check on the children," she spat before storming out of the room.

Jason just didn't understand. Reyna didn't know why he didn't, but she just wished he would. Did he really think she enjoyed being this paranoid about everything? There might not have been monsters or other immortal beings threatening to destroy the Earth for a while, but someone had to be on alert. After all, her instincts had never led her wrong before.

She went to the room of her youngest first, a little purple room directly across from her own. The only light in the room came from a tiny candle encased in metal carousal. Heat rose from the flame turning the carousal so that images of dragons dressed in light danced around the room.

Cleo was sleeping face down with half of her little hands and feet hanging off the edge of the bed. If it wasn't for the loud snoring filling the room Reyna would have felt the need to check for a pulse. She didn't even stir when Reyna tucked her limps back underneath the covers. Her hair, however, was a hopeless case. Cleo's yellow gold hair laid in tangles around her head with a slight ripple of waves the only evidence of the braid Reyna had braided a mere few hours ago. Brushing the golden locks out of her face, Reyna kissed her daughter's forehead and finished covering her with the blanket.

Content with the fact that there is currently no immediate doom threatening the life of her only daughter, Reyna walked quietly out of the bedroom leaving the door ajar behind her. Despite the darling sight of her daughter sleeping, Reyna was still full with dread and overcome with the feeling that something was not right.

Turning to her left, Reyna was surprised to find the door completely shut. Stepping closer to the door, she could hear hissing sounds of whispers being exchange. Cautiously, she turned the knob of the door.

Argentum and Aurum lifted their heads when she entered the room. Their red eyes glowed from their adjacent beds, each one guarding the round lump lying above them. Reyna studied the identical shapes carefully, taking note of their steady breathing and their frozen postures.

"What are you boys up to?"

"Nothing," a small voice replied from underneath the blanket.

Romulus let out a frustrating sigh, throwing back his covers. "What part of pretend to be asleep did you not understand?"

"What? It's Mom," Remus answered. "We can't fool Mom."

"Not like that," Reyna agreed taking a seat on Romulus' bed. "You were too still. Only the dead sleep like that." She patted Aurum's head. "What are two doing up anyways?"

"We couldn't sleep," Remus replied leaping from his bed to his brothers'.

Reyna placed her other arm around her ten year old son. "And why was that?"

"Well-" Remus started, glancing at his brother.

"The alarm bell woke us," Romulus quickly replied. "That's why you're up, isn't it? You heard it too. What's going on? Are we in danger?"

Reyna could feel the weight of their stares as they waited for her to reply.

"What does it mean, Mom?" Remus asked. "Is Camp Jupiter under attack?"

"You were probably just dreaming," she reassured him brushing his black hair out of his eyes. "Don't worry about it."

"We weren't dreaming, Mom. We were wide wake. Heard it clear as day," Remus told her.

"Wait, I thought you said the bell woke you," said Reyna. Remus immediately looked down at the floor to avoid his mother's gaze. Attention to detail was essential for being effective mother.

Romulus rolled his eyes, "Great job genius."

As Remus tucked his head underneath hers, Reyna was reminded of when he was younger. Reyna would rather have her arm cut off than to admit it, but when they were infants it was nearly impossible to tell the boys apart. They were just too identical. After a few days, she discovered a fail proof method of telling them apart. Whenever she held Remus he would tuck his head into her neck. Romulus was never the cuddling type. A true born Roman, he took after her. She actually had Jason convince that giving birth gave her some kind of super mom mind reading power before she broke down in laughter and told him the secret of her ways.

"We had a dream," admitted Remus after a moment of silence.

"The same one?" Reyna asked. She was accustomed to the similarity of her twins, but this was the first time that it happen while they were asleep.

"It was nothing," Romulus replied. "Stop being such a baby."

"Stop it," Reyna ordered. She couldn't blame him for his appeared coldness. After all, there was only of source of it, and sure didn't come from Jason.

"Romans are not frightened by stupid little dreams," Romulus stated.

"No, but they are smarter enough to know when to listen to them," Reyna stated. "A little fear is good sometimes. It keeps you quick and on guard. Overconfidence is what gets you killed." She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Romulus to make sure the message sunk in.

She turned back to her younger son and tightened her grip around him. "Tell me what you saw."

"A battle," Romulus answered for him. "A great big Roman battle. Not a modern one, though, something from the real Roman Empire, with swords and blood. Lots of blood"

Reyna could feel Remus tense up next to her so she ran hand through his hair again. He obviously didn't find the dream as exciting as Romulus did.

"I'm not sure who they were fighting. They had strange looking uniforms though. I didn't recognize the flag," added Romulus glancing towards the bookcase as if he was trying to decide what would be the best book to use to help him identity the foreign army.

Reyna did her best to withhold the frustration boiling inside her. Couldn't the gods just leave her family alone? If Jason hadn't done enough for them for three lifetimes surely she had with all her work at Camp Jupiter. It was bad enough with August only a few weeks away, now this dream summoning her sons to battle.

"Mom?" Remus looked up her with his sky blue eyes.

Reyna did her clear her head and all such thoughts. "It was just a dream, sweetie."

"A dream?" Romulus retorted. "A dream is what you have when you dream of fluffy bunny clouds. This was a message."

It was moments like there where Reyna is reminded that is no longer dealing with the two little babies she could snuggled in her arms. It was also when she cursed her own inheritable intelligence.

"It was so vivid, almost like were we there," Romulus went on while Remus cringed at the memory.

"Enough," Reyna ordered. "You're scaring your brother."

"He's scared of his own shadow," remarked Romulus.

"I am not!" Remus replied, but Romulus went on like he didn't hear him.

"This definitely means something. If only I could identify that flag." Romulus jumped down from his bed and made his way like he was heading towards the bookcase so Reyna grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Those books are the cause of all of this. You have been studying so hard you can't get it out of your head," said Reyna.

"But mom," Romulus whined but then he must have thought that sounded too childish because he quickly retracted it. Clearing his voice, he looked her straight in the eyes. "What about the alarm bell?"

"It was probably just a mistake," suggested Reyna.

"Tell her about the lights" Remus whispered.

"What lights?"

"You mean you haven't noticed yet?" Romulus exclaimed. He took her by the hand and pulled her to his bedroom window. "I'm not sure of the exact time they went out, but they were already out by the time we woke up from our dream," he explained excitedly. Reyna could hear the pride in his voice as he spoke. "Perhaps they went out when we woke up."

Outside there was nothing but darkness covering the landscape in a way it should never be. The boys' window overlooked the whole of Camp Jupiter, so there should have been a whole cluster of lights filling the camp as well as line of flickering flames outlining the borders, but there wasn't a single light illuminating Camp Jupiter.

Reyna could feel the eyes of her two boys studying her reaction to this new information. "That stupid Quintus he probably forgot to have someone check the oil level in the lights."

"In all of them?" Romulus said in unconvincing tone.

"Mom, what's really going on?" Remus quietly asked.

"Nothing," Reyna quickly replied and then added before they could a chance to object, "Nothing you need to be concern about." She turned and took one last look at the window. Camp Jupiter was New Rome's strongest line offence. If something could take out hundreds of professional trained soldiers without a sound what chance did the city have? Then again just because the lights were out didn't mean that the camp had been taken. Still…

"Boys, come with me." She led then back to her bedroom where Jason had falling back asleep, however, not a deep sleep for her mere reentering woke him up again.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I need you to watch the boys while I go and check something out," Reyna answered before walking into the closet.

"What? We don't need watching," retorted Romulus while Remus quietly climbed onto the bed next to his father.

"Check what out?" Jason asked.

"All the lights in Camp Jupiter are out," replied Reyna as she quickly changed out of her nightgown. "I'm either going find out why, or scream at the Praetors for their negligence"

"That sounds entertaining," Jason said appearing at the closet doorway. "Let me go with you."

"And leave the children?" Reyna replied looking at in him with disbelief.

"The boys will be eleven in a few weeks, they more than old enough to be left alone for an hour or two."

"No, they're not!" she exclaimed. The last thing she wanted was for the camp to be under attack and her children to be home alone.

"Yes, we are!" shouted Romulus from the bedroom.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure Cleo could sleep through a level two disaster."

"I'm not leaving alone," Reyna stated pushing pass Jason. She knelt down next to the bed and retrieved her dragger from under it. It had been a while since she last held the weapon, yet it felt as comfortable in her hand as her own skin.

"Then let me go instead," Jason replied following her.

"I'm already dressed," retorted Reyna. "Just stay here and watch the children. Cleo is still asleep in her bed. Don't let the boys go back sleep."

"Why can't the boys sleep?" Jason asked.

"She doesn't want us dreaming about the battle again," answered Romulus.

"What battle?" But no one answered Jason. Reyna gave her keep-your-mouth-shut look to the boys before kissing each of them on the forehead.

"Listen to your father," she told them. Remus gave a little nod and Romulus a salute.

Jason just gave a sigh and followed her out the door and down the stairs. "Reyna, it's a long way to Camp Jupiter and it's late. Can't this wait until morning?"

"No," Reyna growled reaching the bottom of the staircase. She made sure to make it clear with her voice that she would hear no more about it.

"Maybe you should try and contact Frank and Hazel. See if they can see if the western boundary lights are out."

"I will," Jason reluctantly agreed.

"And Jason" said Reyna turning to face him. "Take care of our kids."

"Of course," replied Jason. "You take care of yourself."

Reaching the front door, Reyna turned and kissed him. "I'll be careful."

"You better be," Jason said leaning against the doorway.

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_Please tell me what you think. I would like to know if this is complete rubbish or if this is something worth continuing. _


	2. Jason II

_Hello everyone! I'm so happy that I got so much postive feedback. I will be contiuning this story, but don't expect me to post more than once a week. I'm kind of a slow writer and I do have life. Thanks again for all the reviews._

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**JASON**

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**_Living with Reyna is like_** living with this adorable, little black kitten that occasionally turns in into this ferocious panther that may or may not eat your face off. When Reyna is in one of her moods there is just no saying "No" to her. All you can do is stand back, shut up, and wait for the cuddleable kitten to return.

Not that Jason would ever complain about it. He knew what he was signing himself up for when he proposed to her. The thing that didn't occur to Jason until long after they were married is that Reyna's loveable personality quirks are genetic, so instead of one occasionally difficult person, he got four.

Jason watched Reyna walk down the dimly lit street until she disappeared into the darkness. Then he waited a few more moments hoping she would come back. When he finally did go inside, Argentum, Aurum and the boys were waiting for him from the top of staircase. Remus and Romulus were resting their heads on the handrail while the dogs poked their metals heads through the bars.

"So…if we are not allowed to sleep," said Romulus slowly. "Does that mean we get to eat?"

Jason smiled. "Sure."

As they ran down the stairs pass him he patted them on the head. "Go ahead. I'll be down in a moment." Jason quickly went up the stairs and back to his bedroom where he pulled a cell phone from the top drawer.

Electricity was somewhat limited in New Rome as most families elected to live the traditional Roman way, but almost everyone had the necessaries just in case the world ended. Their family was a bit more unusually in that the kept their phone on in order to keep in contact with the sisters and the other members of the old gang. So, Jason knew Frank's and Hazel's phone would be on. It was the matter of waking them up for no reason that was holding Jason back.

On his way downstairs, Jason stopped at the boy's room to take a look for himself. True to Reyna's words, every single light in Camp Jupiter was out. Jason never doubted her truthiness, just the sinisterness of it. He was sure that there was a perfectly logically explanation of why the camp was blacked out, a random drill or stupid prank. Nevertheless, Jason found Frank's and Hazel's names in the contact list and pushed call. Consideration for his friends' sleep wasn't worth enduring Reyna's wrath if he didn't follow orders.

Jason listened to the phone ring as he descended the steps. The phone ringed and ringed, but no one answered. He had except as much. All the normal Roman families would be asleep at this hour. Jason has never been a part of a normal family.

He left a message for them, and then shoved the phone into his pocket. One call would be significant enough to pass Reyna's lie detector test, and get him off the hook. When Jason entered the kitchen the boys were sitting at the counter with Aurum and Argentum lying under their feet. They were prefect mirror images of each other. Every single detail, from their black thick hair and pale skin, to their light sky blue eyes, was completely same. Even their posture was identical; bent over the table with their heads in their hands. As Leo once put it, they are just like those girls in those horror movies that stand at the end of corridors and speak in perfect unison. "We have been waiting for you." But sadly, twin boys are just not as creepy as twin girls, so Leo had to put his director dreams on hold. Of course, their similarity ended the second one of them open their mouth.

"What do you want?" Jason asked.

"Ice Cream!" Romulus answered jumping in his seat.

"But mom says we are not allowed sugar after seven," said Remus.

"Mom isn't here,_ excors_," sneered Romulus.

"Don't call your brother names," Jason ordered.

"Then tell him to stop saying things that require me to," Romulus retorted.

This is part of being a parent that Jason didn't like. It was fine when they were little and couldn't talk, but then they got older and suddenly think they can outsmart you. "Don't talk back to me," Jason replied in his stern voice.

But that didn't faze Romulus one bit. "I'll stop calling him an _excors_ if you give me ice cream."

He had the same look on his that Reyna gets when she wants things to go her way. Jason sighed and pulled out three bowls figuring that he might as well have some too. Romulus was by far the difficult child. He was just as stubborn and headstrong as Reyna, which why Jason just let it go. He was too tired to get into another fight that night.

As he was scooping the ice cream into the bowls, Jason noticed a tiny shadow making its way into the kitchen. By the time Jason was filling the third bowl Cleo was pulling herself on the chair next to Romulus. She looked like she was still half asleep with her eyelids covering most of her little black eyes. There was a blanket clutched in her hand.

"Ice cream," she demanded.

Jason gladly slid his bowl over to her. He will admit that he had a little soft spot for his little girl. Cleo could sleep her parents arguing, but someone says ice cream and she magically appears. The five year old was definitely in a category of her own.

"Mom went to check out something, but she will be back soon," Remus explained to Cleo as if he was trying to calm her down. But the five year old didn't seem that concern about her mother's disappearance. She was too focused on eating her ice cream and getting back to sleep.

"That's if nothing gets her," mumbled Romulus.

"Romulus!"

"What? I tried to warn her," Romulus continued. "Taking out all of the lights in Camp Jupiter takes numbers. Doing it silently takes skill. Mom doesn't have a chance. Not by herself."

"Yes she does! Mom is one is one the best fighters ever. Right?" Remus turned his big worried blue eyes to Jason.

"Of course," Jason quickly replied before he got too worked up. "Don't worry. Your mom is smart. She will get out of there before she gets overcome." And he set a little pray that Reyna would make his words true.

Reyna rarely left him alone with the kids. There had been incidents (None of which were Jason's fault) that led to this set up. But tonight things seemed to be going pretty well. He might actually get through the night without a problem. Still, Jason wished Reyna would come back before things got a chance to get out of hand.

"You have to admit, it's an interesting strategy," said Romulus after a while.

"What is?" asked Remus.

"Taking out the lights," replied Romulus. "It lures people out of their homes without alarms going off."

"But the alarm bell did go off," said Remus.

"That was just a fluke," said Romulus. "Someone was probably trying to take out the alarm guard, but when he slit the guy's throat the head fell forward and hit the bell. Runaway heads are one of the major disadvantages of decapitation."

Remus cringed at Romulus' description. "I think I just lost my appetite," he said pushing his bowl away.

"I'll take it!" Romulus shouted reaching for his brother's bowl.

"Mine!" Cleo screamed grabbing the bowl from her older brother, but Romulus didn't let go.

"Rom, let Cleo have it," said Remus.

"No, I called dibs first," Romulus replied tightening his grip.

But Cleo wasn't going down without a fight. She pulled the bowl towards her and screamed, "Mine! Mine! Mine!"

"Let go Cleo!" Romulus growled back.

"Rom, stop it! I want Cleo to have it," said Remus trying to intervene.

"You gave up your custody," snapped Romulus.

Jason could see that this was going to go bad fast. "Kids! Stop fighting! Romulus, give the bowl to Cleo."

"Why does she get everything?" said Romulus glaring at him.

"Because I say so," Jason replied.

"I WANT ICE CREAM!" The second it took Romulus to glare at his father was the all the time Cleo needed. She let go of the bowl with her left hand and pressed it on top of her brother's hand.

"Ouch!" Romulus shrieked letting go of the bowl. "Dad! She electrocuted me!"

"You asked for it," Jason said sitting back down.

"DAD!"

"It was just a little shock," Jason sighed. "You'll live." He was surprise Romulus was making such a fuss over something so little.

"You let her get away with everything," snapped Romulus.

"You know she can't help it," Jason replied. "Besides, you're the one that got her worked up."

"That's bull. She's been able to control lightning since she was three. Little lightning freak," Romulus growled leaning back in his chair not even bothering to finish his own bowl of ice cream.

Cleo just stuck out her tongue at him and put a spoonful of Remus' ice cream in her mouth. Jason didn't need to worry about his little girl. She was more than capable of handling Romulus and his antics.

"That's not possible. Thalia didn't even get control of her lightning until she was eight, and I had trouble with it well into my teens."

"Just because you weren't good enough−" Romulus stopped midsentence when he saw the look on his father's face. Romulus wasn't stupid. He knew when he was pushing it.

"Is it over?" Remus asked uncovering his eyes.

"Cleo, don't eat so fast you will make yourself sick." Remus reached to take the bowl away from her but Cleo's hands began to spark. "Oh ok. Never mind."

"Didn't mom ask you call Frank and Hazel?" Romulus mumbled.

"They didn't answer, so I left them a message," replied Jason.

"That's a great sign." Romulus' voice was full of sarcasm.

"Is Turtle coming over?" Cleo asked.

"No," Jason answered. "Don't call him Turtle. I get enough headaches from Hazel about it."

Turtle was the children's nickname for Frank's and Hazel's son. Started by Romulus, of course, but it the name has become so popular Jason has even heard people on the streets use it, unfortunately.

"But Daddy, he is so squishy and round," Cleo smiled still eating her ice cream. Jason wasn't sure that made sense, but he let her have it.

They sat in silence while Cleo finished her ice cream. Jason kept glancing at clock every five seconds. Reyna had been gone for almost an hour already. He was trying to decide what he was going to do if Reyna didn't come back when all the lights in the kitchen went out. It happened all at once which is strange because the kitchen's light was made up a mix of electricity and candles. Jason's eyes were still adjusting to the dark when Cleo jumped onto his lap.

"Why did everything go dark?" She whispered hugging him tight.

"I'm not sure," Jason replied slowly. He wrapped his arms around her when he stood up. Everything was pitched black. He could barely see where he was going. The only light came from the dogs' red eyes underneath the table.

"It's just like Camp Jupiter," said Remus somewhere in the darkness.

"It's here," Romulus whispered.

"What's here?" Remus squeaked.

"Whatever took out Camp Jupiter," Romulus answered. "Haven't you noticed how cold it has suddenly gotten."

Jason noticed that Romulus was right. It was a warm summer day a few minutes ago, now it was freezing. To make matters worse, Argentum and Aurum started growling.

"It's in the house," Romulus continued.

Jason heard the sound of a chair sliding against the floor and then felt a hand on his shirt. "No it's not," Remus stated leaning against his father. "Dad, make him stop."

"I'm not doing anything," complained Romulus.

"Then shut your mouth," Jason ordered. "_Argentum! Aurum! Pax!"_

But the dogs didn't listen to him, they kept growling at something in the darkness. That was when Jason realized that Romulus might be right.

Suddenly, there was a pounding noise at the front door. Cleo screamed and the dogs went running towards it.

"Rom, stop it!" cried Remus.

"That's not me, Rem," Romulus answered slowly. He stood up and went to stand on Jason's other side.

For one flitting second, Jason thought Reyna had come home, but then he realized that Reyna would never knock on the door. She would just come in.

"Stay here," Jason said lowering Cleo down onto the floor.

"Dad, don't," Remus whispered.

Jason hushed him. "Watch your sister."

He moved slowly to the door. Aurum and Argentum continued to paw at the door, barking loudly. He had never dealt with a monster that knocked on the front door before, but there is a first time for everything. As quietly as he could he opened the closet door and grabbed his _gladius. _The pounding on the door did not slow down as Jason approached the door. It was so dark outside that Jason couldn't see out the glass window to see what was waiting for him on the other side of the door. As Jason carefully pulled the door open, he raised his sword ready to strike.

"Call off the hounds!" A voice called from the darkness.

"Frank?" Jason stuttered lowering his weapon.

Frank took a step closer to the doorway so Jason could see him. "Good night, Jason. Or should I say morning? I'm not sure what time it is. My watch seemed to have stop working."

"Frank, what are doing here?" asked Jason. Aurum and Argentum went around him sniffing, and then slowly backed away when they recognized him.

"Hazel got up in the middle of the night with a headache and found all the lights out. Then I got your message and figured it would be best to come here," Frank answered.

"And why is that?"

"Because whatever it is that is going on it started on the outside of the city and is working its way inward." Jason still couldn't see Hazel, but he recognized her voice. "The lights were already out on our street as well the street above ours, but the rest of the city was still lit when we left. But as we were walking more and more streets started to go dark. Now, it's even dark here." Jason's and Reyna's house was located near the very center of the city, while the Zhang's lived in the outer ring. The only thing more central than their house was the Senate House and the other government buildings. Jason wondered if they have gone dark yet.

"Do you mind if we come in Jason?" Hazel quietly asked. "There is something lurking out here."

"Of course," Jason answered. He stepped out of the way to let them in. Before shutting the door, Jason looked both ways down the streets but he saw no sign of Reyna or the something Hazel was talking about. "Did you see anything out there?"

"Like a giant ice monster?" Frank teased. "Nah, the streets are completely empty. Most people are still asleep. I doubt anyone else has noticed the lights going out."

"But I thought you said−"

"It's just a feeling, Jason," Hazel interrupted. "There is something out there. I can sense it. Something is not right."

"You sound like Reyna." But Jason was starting to believe them. Being a daughter of Pluto, darkness was right up her alley, and if she says there something not right about it then she is probably right.

"She hasn't come back yet?"

"No," Jason sadly answered. Then an idea came to him. "Hey, do you think you can watch the kids while I go look for her?"

"Sure," said Frank. "Where are the little monsters?"

"In the kitchen," Jason answered. He grabbed his coat and some shoes from the closet and put them on. Then he picked up his sword again.

"Here, take this to," said Frank handing him a flashlight. "Just case it decides to start working again."

Jason took the flashlight in his hand. He played with the switch a few times but nothing happen. Then he set a little shock through his hand and the light sparked on. "There, that's better."

The room filled with light, and Jason could finally see Frank and Hazel properly. He noticed that Hazel was holding a cloth bundle containing her two year son, Marius, who was fast asleep, and that Frank had his bow and arrow bag around his shoulder.

"Much better," replied Hazel pressing her son's head to her face.

Cleo's, Remus' and Romulus' heads appeared around the corner. They seemed relieved to see Frank and Hazel instead some big monster.

"Hello kids," Hazel smiled. She ushered them forward with one hand.

Jason went over to meet them. "I going to go look for your mom, but Frank and Hazel are going stay here with you. I want you to be good and−"

"Don't eat us alive," Frank interrupted.

"Yeah, what he said," Jason finished.

"Dad, don't go," Romulus said suddenly.

"I'll be right back," replied Jason patting him on the head. Actually, he was surprised Romulus cared. Reyna was always telling him to be patience with him. That all he wanted was his father's approval, but Jason found that hard to believe. The way he was always getting into trouble and picking on his little brother and sister, Romulus was just born difficult.

"Be carefully Jason," said Hazel.

Jason nodded and headed towards the door, but he barely had the door open when Reyna ran into him. She was almost knocked to the ground but Jason steady her. She was breathing heavily and sweat rolled down her face like she had been sprinting. But what got Jason really worried was the color of her face. It was pure white.

"Reyna, what's wrong?"

But she didn't answer him. She just buried her head into his chest and took deep breath like she was trying to regain control of herself. After a few seconds, Reyna released him.

"Sweetie, can you grab the blue duffle bag from closet for me," Reyna asked Romulus when she passed him. Jason could tell she was doing her best to keep her panic from reaching her voice when spoke. "Hazel, come with me."

Hazel followed her into the living room without a word, and Jason and Frank followed them. She tried to move the table in the center of room by herself and Jason went to help her. He was starting to understand what Reyna had plan. The emergency bag from the closet and the hidden door in the living meant that something was coming and Reyna was doing her best to keep everyone from panicking.

"Reyna, what did−" Frank started but Reyna silenced him with one look. Cleo, Remus and Romulus had entered the room with the blue bag.

"Thank you, sweetie," said Reyna when Romulus handed her the bag. Jason took the bag from her and began digging in it for another flashlight.

"Mom, what's going on?"

"We are going to play a little game," Reyna answered him as she pulled back the rug to uncover a door in the middle of the floor.

"What kind of game?" asked Cleo.

"The kind where you have to be really quiet," Jason answered for her pulling the flashlight from the bag. He gave it a little shock and it turned on.

"Like hide and go seek?" asked Cleo.

"Exactly," Reyna smiled at her. She lifted open the door to the secret basement. When they bought the house, Jason thought the original owner must have been paranoid. Now, he will never speak a bad word against them ever again. "Remus, why don't you go down first?"

Remus looked at the hole like it was most terrifying thing he has ever seen. Jason squeezed his shoulder and handed him the flashlight. "It's going to be alright, son. Just listen to your mother."

He nodded, but Jason could tell from his blue eyes that he was still scared. Reyna hugged and kissed him, then nodded to Jason to lower him into the basement.

"You're next Cleo," Jason said leaning towards her.

"No," Cleo screamed. "I don't want go into the dark scary hole."

Jason could tell by the way Reyna kept glancing towards the door that they were running out of time. "Cleo, why don't you cover your eyes, then it won't be so dark."

But Cleo wasn't buying it. She stomped the floor and crossed her arms. "No."

Reyna had no other choice but to pick her and sing softly into her ear until she fell asleep. Jason knew how much she hated using magic on the children, but they were in a hurry. She lowered Cleo down to her brother then turned to Hazel.

"Hand me Marius," said Reyna. "I'll use the same spell on him so he won't wake in."

Once Marius was deep asleep and safe in the basement Reyna turned to Romulus.

"Romulus, I need you to protect them."

"I will."

"No matter what you hear, you stay put. Don't come out until one of us comes and get you."

"What if you don't come get us?"

"Then you call your Aunt Hylla," Jason answered handing him the cell phone from his pocket. His love for Hylla hasn't grown over the years, but she was the closet to New Rome and would get here fastest.

Reyna hugged and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you. Take care of your brother and sister."

"And Marius," Hazel added.

"And Marius," repeated Reyna and hugged him again before handing him the blue duffle bag.

"I won't let you down," Romulus stated before jumping down to his brother and sister.

Reyna didn't waste any time closing the door and replacing the rag back into its place.

"Hazel, why don't you go down there with them?" Frank asked.

"I rather fight with you," Hazel answered then helped Reyna move the table.

"Now, will you tell us what is about to come and eat us?" Jason asked when the table was back in place/

Reyna looked at him and for the first time Jason saw fear in her eyes. "I'm not sure how to explain it. It's−"

But Reyna never got a chance to finish her sentence. Somewhere in the front room a window got smashed and the dogs went crazy. Something was trying to get through the front door.

Jason gripped the flashlight in his hand, the only source of light in the whole house. He would feel a lot better about this upcoming fight if they had a proper light source. Frank prepared his bow while Hazel and Reyna pulled out their weapons.

"Just like old times," Frank mumbled as the pounding on the door got louder.

"Everyone remember what to do, or do we need to have a little lesson in standard defense 101?" Jason asked trying to ease the mood.

Reyna rolled her eyes at him. Jason knew whatever they were about to face they would get through together. They always had.

Then the door smashed open.

* * *

_Oh no! :)_

_So, I have read a lot of one-shots about the future of Jeyna and almost all of them are about the happy perfect moments of childhood which is perfectly fine for one-shots, but since we are going to be together for a while I thought it would be a good idea to explore other roads. I would love to hear your thoughts about this chapter and the kids. Please review._


	3. Romulus III

Hello! I would like to first thank everyone who reviewed, especially the ones who took the time to point out my mistakes. I am trying to go beta-free on this story to force myself to improve my grammar, so I really appreciate any help.

A lot of you have asked if I am going to include Percy or the other characters in my story. My answer is that I would really want to but in my mind Percy, Annabeth and the others are probably living in New York, and that's a far way from California. I think it would wreck the story if I just had them come last second and save the day. This story is mainly about the Grace children coming to age. IF I do continue this pass this story line conflict, I would like the children to visit Camp Half-Blood and have some interact there.

Also another thing that has been floating around my head is that whole future of Camp Half-Blood. In current canon, Camp Half-Blood does not accept descendants of demigods into the camp so Annabeth's and Percy's children wouldn't be at the camp. Also, I have this feeling that Camp Jupiter won't allow them to change that rule. The conflict between the Greeks and Romans is going to last a long time, and one victory together isn't going going clear away hundred of years of conflict. I think the camps will accept each but keep their distance. I think the Romans would see Camp Half-Blood's acceptance of descendants as the beginning of building of an army and a declaration of war. Right now, the Romans have a fully functional army and a city. The Greek do not, and the Romans want to keep it that way. Sorry if I am ranting I just really like the politics between these two camps.

If anyone has any ideas about this or how I could improve my story I would love to hear them. For now, please enjoy this chapter.

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**ROMULUS**

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_**Never turn your back on a shadow**_. When Romulus was little, he decided that he needed to learn at least one new thing a day in order to achieve his goal of being praetor. He guessed the shadow thing would have to be his lesson for the day.

That night had been the most exciting night of his life, and it wasn't even over yet. Romulus' mind kept thinking back to his dream. It was the first time he had ever any contact with the gods, and they were just as helpful as his parents had told them. All he had to go on was an army of old fashion soldiers with funny w-shaped hats and an emerald green flag with a rooster on it. It was a silly flag. Who would be afraid of a chicken? He only wished his mother would have let looked it up when he had a chance. Now, he didn't have time to think about something that happen hundreds years ago. He needed to focus.

Romulus was a little ticked off that his mother didn't let him fight, but he guessed someone had to be in charge of the children. His pathetic brother was huddle in the corner of the basement with the flashlight, the only source of light in the room. Remus' hand was shaking so much that it made the basement look more like club than a panic room.

"Give me the light," Romulus ordered.

"Why?" whispered Remus.

"Because your cowardice is making me nauseous," he replied snatching the flashlight from his brother's hand.

Step One: Know Your Surroundings.

Romulus shined the light around the room. The room was surprisingly large. It must cover the entire width of the house. There were pipes lining the walls where the kitchen would be. One of the pipes was dripping water onto the stone floor. There was nothing else except for a few old crates that must have been left there by the original owners of the house. In all, it was a pretty decent room. Romulus made a mental note to himself to ask his mom if he could move down here so he wouldn't have share with his stupid brother anymore.

Upstairs a door smashed open.

"They're in the house!"

Romulus hushed his brother and listened. He easily recognized his parent's footsteps. After all, he had heard them all his life. Frank's were also easy to identify, they were thick and heavy compared to the others, but Romulus lost Hazel in the chaos. There was glass smashing and furniture being overturned, but Romulus was able to concentrate his mother's movements. She was right above him, taking on three opponents at once. They were small whoever they were, and light on their feet, but they couldn't be that well trained if mom could hold off three of them at once. His father was fighting multiple opponents too, two by the sound of it. They had the advantage since the enemy had to bottleneck through the kitchen to get to them, but that also meant that his parents were trapped in with nowhere to retreat to.

Romulus jumped onto top one of the crates so he could hear better. Mom's footsteps rocked back up and forth, pushing them but holding the line. There was a crash and Romulus imagined his mother tossing her opponent across the room. Dad wasn't doing too badly either. He did, after all, defeat a Titan once.

It was extremely frustration only being able to hear half the fight. He would have given anything to see his mother in action. The battle continued. The enemy continued to pour into the room above. Romulus began to wonder how many there were. It seemed every time his mom took down one opponent another one just took its place. His parents were good, but they couldn't keep up forever. He needed a plan B.

Romulus scanned the room once more. They needed an escape but he was boxed in with four cement walls. They couldn't go up, there was still fighting going on. Besides, that was against mom's orders. They couldn't go down. The floor was just as solid as the walls. He quietly growled out of frustration.

"Rom? What's wrong?" asked Remus.

"We need to get out of here," Romulus replied. "They are too many of them, and mom and dad won't give up so long as we are in danger."

"But, we're in the basement. There is nowhere else to go."

Romulus just walked away from him and continued his search. He didn't have time for his stupid brother's wisdom now. He began searching the crates for something he could use, but he found nothing except for dust and a bunch of white feathers. The past owners must have been chicken collectors or something.

"Rom, look at these pipes," said Remus. Romulus hadn't even notice that he had stood up.

"There're the pipes from the kitchen," he answered without looking up.

"There's a leak."

"Really? Brilliant observation, genius," growled Romulus.

"No, look at the water. It's dripping all over the floor, but−"

Romulus looked over to where his brother was standing. Water was dripping down from the ceiling but there wasn't a puddle on the floor. Another drop fell from the ceiling. He watched the drop slide across the floor, underneath some crates. They pushed the crates out of the way and found a small rectangle grate.

"This could work," said Romulus pulling the metal covering off. It was about two feet wide, not very deep but it continued underneath floor.

"Are you kidding?" said Remus. "We won't fit in there."

Romulus turned his attention back to the fight. It wasn't as aggressive as it was before. Mom was slowing down, but there was also something else that was wrong.

"I can't hear dad anymore," Romulus whispered.

"What?"

"I was listening to their movements before. Now, I can't hear dad." Romulus moved back to his position on top of the crate, but it made no difference. His mother had stopped moving, and so had the others. There was shouting now. Something bad had happen.

Romulus jumped down again and ran over to the blue duffle bag his mother had given him. He pulled out a water bottle from it and poured over it all over his little sister's face. Cleo sputtered awake. He covered her mouth before she had a chance to scream and picked her up.

"Remus, go," Romulus ordered.

"But−"

Romulus didn't give Remus a chance to finish. He shoved his brother into the dark hole. Upstairs, movement began again wasn't the same as before. There was more glass smashing and furniture crushing. They were looking for them.

"It's dark and wet down here," complained Remus.

Romulus shoved the flashlight into his mouth. "Crawl."

Once his brother's feet were out of view, he put Cleo down. Her eyes were large and wide as she listened to the commotion upstairs. Luckily, she seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation.

"Follow Remus," Romulus told her. "I'll be right behind you."

She nodded and ducked in after her brother.

Romulus ran back to Turtle and the blue bag. He couldn't expect Turtle to quietly crawl through a storm drain, even if he was awake, so instead he picked him up and put inside the duffle bag. Then he shove Cleo's blanket onto of him for protection.

They were getting more violent in their search upstairs, but it was the sound of the table screeching across the floor that really got Romulus moving. He grabbed the bag and placed it as carefully as he could down in the hole. Then he pushed it in his brother's and sister's direction so he would have room to crawl down. But before he went down he pushed one of the empty crates on top of the grate so that when he pulled the cover back on it would be concealed by the wooden box. It might only slow down the enemy for a few seconds, but seconds were precious in war.

It was a really good thing that Romulus wasn't claustrophobic. The passage was a lot smaller than he would have like. He had to use his elbows and knees to push himself forward. Every few seconds he had to stop and push the bag containing Turtle forward until Cleo reached behind and grabbed the handle so she could pull it.

"Thanks," he mumbled to his sister. He couldn't see anything. He was soaking wet, and the cement from the drain skinned his arms clean, but they were safe. "Rem, do you see anything?"

There was an inaudible mumble.

"Take the flashlight out of your mouth."

"There's nothing, but darkness," Remus answered. "Maybe we should turn back."

"No," Romulus stated. They couldn't do that. He hadn't heard anything behind them, but that didn't mean they weren't being followed. Besides, there was nothing for them back there.

"If we're not going back, then go forward," snapped Cleo splashing water onto Remus.

They continued on for a while in silence. Romulus began to worry that he had led his siblings in the wrong direction. His first time in charge and he was blowing it. He didn't care if he had to push and pull his siblings all the way to the edge of the city. They were getting out of this stupid tunnel.

"Hey Rom, there is something blocking the path," called Remus.

"What?"

"There is a metal fence thing in the way."

"Can you move it?"

"No" Romulus sighed. This what the last thing they needed.

"If you don't get me out of this tunnel right now I'm going to scream," Cleo snapped.

"There nothing I can do, Cleo," replied Remus.

Cleo scream and her voice echoed against the water and stone hurting Romulus' ears.

"Cleo! That's not helping!" shouted Romulus.

To make matters worse, Turtle woke up and starting crying. He was thrashing around in the bag causing water to splash into Romulus' face.

"Remus! Open it!" shouted Romulus over the crying and the screaming.

"I'm trying!"

"Try harder!" Romulus wished he had gone first. He would have been strong enough to break the gate open.

A few horrible moments later, there was a splash and cracking noise. Remus was able to crawl forward then step into another tunnel that was thankfully a lot larger. He then helped Cleo down before grabbing Turtle's bag. Romulus was so thankfully to be out of that cramp small tunnel that he almost kissed the ground before he realized that they were in the sewers.

"There," said Cleo who had finally stopped screaming. "I knew you could do it. You just needed a little motivation."

"Next time can you motivate a little quieter?" snapped Romulus. "Turtle! Will you stop crying?"

"Great idea, Rom. Yell at him, that will make him stop," said Remus. He went over Turtle and picked him up out the bag. The two year sniffled, but stopped his whinnying. He looked around with his little brown eyes. It must be really confusing for him to fall asleep in his bedroom and wake in the sewers with the Graces. Perhaps, that is why he mumbled, "Monkey" when he saw Romulus.

"Same to you Turtle," Romulus growled. He looked around. The sewers were just as his parent and the books described as, a dark wet tunnel with an unwelcoming brown river running through the middle of it.

"Dad says Hazel doesn't like us calling him Turtle," said Remus.

"Well, if you haven't notice, Remus. Dad isn't here!" Romulus shouted. Somewhere above them, their parents were being captured and perhaps something worse, and his good for nothing brother was worried about a silly nickname.

"But they are going to be ok?" asked Cleo looking from brother to brother. "Right?"

Romulus didn't answer her. He just snatched the bag out of his brother's hand instead. Cleo was smart enough to know when someone was trying to appease her, but she sure wasn't ready for what Romulus really thought.

"Of course," Remus answered.

Romulus rolled his eyes and focused on step two: Resources. Using the cell phone's light, he looked through the emergency bag his mother had given him. The bag contained a bunch of necessaries like water and food, but there also kiddy stuff, like his stuff lion, Trajan, from when he was three. He was about to give up when something caught his eyes. Reaching into the bag, Romulus pulled out a gold hilt attached to a long medium size blade.

"Ooh," Cleo hummed. "Shiny."

Romulus smiled back at her. It was shiny alright, and gold. And Sharp. It felt perfect in his hand, less of weapon and more of an extension of his arm. It was nothing like the wooden sticks he and his brother would play with in the backyard. It was a real weapon.

"Romulus," Remus shouted breaking his trance.

"What?"

"I think it is time you call Aunt Hylla now."

Romulus looked at his brother in disbelief. Neither of them shared much love for their dear old aunt. Aunt Hylla, being the Queen of the Amazons, didn't treat them as kindly as she did Cleo simply because they were boys. Cleo was always showered with gifts while they always got stuck with stupid gifts like clothes.

"I don't like it as much as you do, but mom and dad need help and she's the closest," continued Remus.

His brother spoke the truth. Everyone else they that somewhat liked were clear across the country. Percy and Annabeth were in New York while Thalia, the "Cool" Aunt, was always difficult to contact.

"Alright," Romulus mumbled after a while. But when he look down at his hands, with the cellphone is one and the sword in the other, he couldn't help but to feel a twinge of excitement. This could be his chance to truly prove himself, to save his family and Rome all at the same time. After all, by the time they were about his age his father going on his first quest and his mother was fighting pirates. Wasn't it his time for him to prove his worth.

"I'm not getting a signal down here," lied Romulus.

"Great," sighed Remus. "What do we do now?"

"Keep moving," answered Romulus. "And find out what it is exactly that we are facing."

"Rom, this isn't your time to play hero. This is serious. Mom's and Dad's lives are at stake."

"Which is exactly why we should be the ones to save them," replied Romulus. "They are our family."

"You're being ridiculous."

"Listen," Romulus stated glaring at his brother. "Mom put me in charge. I'm the oldest. I'm the strongest, and I am definitely the smartest. The only one who will be giving out orders is me."

"Fine," Remus mumbled after a while.

Romulus turned to pick up the blue bag only to find Cleo ruffling through it. In her hand she held a tiny gold dragger about the size of her arm.

"This well do," she hummed swing it a few time.

"Cleo! You're not allowed to play with knives," exclaimed Remus.

"Like Rom said," Cleo replied. "Mom's not here." She pointed the dragger at Remus daring him to try and take it from her.

"You see what you started," Remus growled at him.

Romulus shrugged. He couldn't control Cleo any more than he could. "Do you know how to use that?" he asked.

"Sure, you stab with the pointy end," she proudly answered demonstrating her technique.

He nodded his approval. That is the most important thing to remember.

Studying each end of the tunnel carefully, Romulus tried to pick the direction that would get them to Camp Jupiter. It was difficult because he had to assume the drainage tunnel they were in before lead them directly to the main sewer line instead of curving around.

"Since you are the one who is making decisions, I will be sure to tell mom whose fault everything is," said Remus handing him the flashlight.

"You do that."

"Look Rem, there's one for you too." Cleo held out another golden blade about the size of his.

Remus looked at it like it was dirty piece of laundry, but took it in his free hand anyways. "Thanks," he quietly mumbled.

"Come on Cleo," said Romulus. "Let's go this way."

He led them down the tunnel, lighting the way with his flashlight. Behind him he could hear his brother sighing and moaning while his sister made swishing noises as she swung her dragger. Romulus did his best not to think about the smell coming from the water.

Every once in a while they would reach a connecting tunnel, but continue on straight path figuring it would lower their chances of getting lost. They were approaching another dark cross tunnel when his brother began complaining again.

"It's so dark down here," said Remus. "And wet."

He turned to yell at his brother to be quiet, but when he did he felt the cold edge of a knife kissing his neck.

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Please don't forget to review. This is my first OC's point of view and it makes me really nervous. I am usually a canon writer so this is somewhat new for me.


	4. Remus IV

**REMUS**

* * *

**_Remus will admit_**, when the shadow took his brother a part of him thought, "Take him! Please!" But then he thought about how guilty he would feel if he had to tell his mother that his brother had been eaten alive by a shadow, and decided against it.

"Rom!" Remus shouted as his brother was dragged into the shadows. The attacker's face was completely hidden in the darkness, but the gold blade cradling Romulus' neck shined perfectly in the light projected by the flashlight spinning around on the ground.

"Put your weapons down now!"

"Don't worry brother, I got this," said Cleo before leaping into action. Luckily, Remus was able to catch her midair before she had a chance to do any damage. But Cleo, being a Grace, wasn't going down without a fight. She struggled against him, kicking and screaming, "Let me go!" and "Kill!"

Romulus was struggling too, but his opponent was bit more skilled than him, making it impossible for him to break free. "Remus! Don't just stand there. Do something!"

"Shut it!" The dark figure wrapped the rest of his arm around Romulus' neck making him unable to speak and breath. "I said drop your weapons!"

By some miracle, Remus was able to avoid Cleo's chomping teeth and wrestle her dragger out of her hand, throwing it to the ground. "There! We're unarmed. Please, let my brother go."

"Stand back! Against the wall," the voice ordered and Remus obeyed. He didn't see that he had much of a choice. He placed Cleo down behind him, trapping her between himself and the wall so she couldn't retrieve her dragger.

Without Cleo trying to bit his arm off, Remus was able to make out the shape of their attacker with the light from the now stationery flashlight. It was no monster. Just a kid in red Converses, jeans and a black zipped up jacket with the hood covering half his face. Another thing Remus realized now that he had calm down was that the mysterious voice belonged to a girl.

"Now, tell me what you know," she growled.

"We don't know anything," Remus quickly replied looking back to his brother. Romulus' face was turning bright red on the account that the girl was at lease foot taller than him which meant that he had to balance on his tippy toes if he even wanted a chance to take a breath. "Can you please let my brother down? You're suffocating him."

"I give the orders around here," she snapped before switching her knife to her other hand to threaten him with it. Remus would have rolled his eyes if he didn't think that would anger her more. This girl and his brother were made for each other. It was shame that she was probably going to kill before she got a chance to properly be introduced to him.

The switching of hands had caused the girl's left sleeve to fold up just enough for Remus to make out a Q and R burnt onto her skin.

"_Nos sunt in parte. Sumus Romani."_

Remus noticed the girl start to relax the second he spoke in Latin, giving Romulus a chance to breath. But for some reason she kept her weapon up, even though they were clearly Roman citizens. "_Bene Latine loqueris infanti"_

"We were born here in New Rome. Our parents are Jason and Reyna Grace, former praetors of Camp Jupiter. We were forced from our home earlier this morning when an unknown force attacked our home. Our parents placed us in the basement, but they were unable to hold them off so we escape the storm drain," Remus quickly recited. He could practically feel the weight of the girl's stare as she analyzed his truthfulness. She was even worse than his mom, and that's really saying something.

"Fine," she stated after what felt like forever. "I believe you." She released Romulus, shoving him away from her, but kept her knife pointed at Remus. Romulus collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air. Remus reached down to help his brother up, but before he could Romulus smacked his hand away.

"I don't need your help," he growled before pulling himself up. His face was still as red as tomato, but whether that was from the girl's grip or just anger it was hard to tell. "Please, let my brother go?' Could you get anymore pathetic?"

"You're still breathing, aren't you?" Remus turned back to the girl. "Thank you for not killing my brother."

"I think you are going to regret stopping me one day." The girl pulled her hoodie back revealing a long ponytail of hair the color of freshly polished copper. There was fairly recent cut across her left cheek that ended right under her cinnamon brown eyes.

"I think I am already," Remus smiled at her. He was so thankfully to see someone from Camp Jupiter he could touch her which is strange because he usually hated touching people outside of his family. Maybe now, they will be able to get some help for their parents. "I'm Remus Grace. This is my little sister, Cleo and Mr. Cheerful over there is Romulus. And Marius−"

He froze. The little two year old was nowhere in sight. He could feel the panic rise to his head. His mother was so going to kill him. "Marius! Where's Marius?"

Romulus shrugged like he didn't even care while Remus turned around like a madman, searching every inch around them.

"Who's Marius?" The girl asked.

"Our parent's friends' son," Romulus mumbled.

"His name is Turtle," stated Cleo freeing herself from Remus' grasp.

"Turtle?"

"He's round and squishy," explained Cleo.

"Ok," Lucy slowly replied.

Romulus snatched the flashlight and his sword from the ground. "Here," he sighed tossing Remus the light.

Remus wasn't exactly the most coordinated person in the world so he almost dropped it, earning him another disappointing glare from his brother. He flashed the light down each direction, but there was still no sight of the little two year old.

"He didn't pass me, so he must have gone back your way," said Lucy.

"Wonderful." Romulus looked at her with all the hatred he could muster. It wasn't every day someone got the best of Romulus, but when they did he made sure they regretted it. "You never told us your name."

She looked behind at him as if she was trying to determine if his rudeness was deserving of a slap. "It's Lucy," she grumbled. "Lucy Williams, member of the First Cohort."

Remus took a second away from his search to look back at her. The First Cohort is the most prestigious cohort in Camp Jupiter. Only the most powerful demigods got in there, which she clearly was. Romulus, however, wasn't as impressed.

"Lucy?" Romulus laughed.

Remus always felt bad for the demigods that came from mortal families. Everyone who grew up in New Rome had powerful warrior names like Andriana and Maximus, while they came to Camp Jupiter with silly names like Penelope and Jimmy Bob.

"Look who's talking, Grace," she snapped back, but Remus could tell by her reaction that her name was a touchy subject.

Remus intervened before the fight could progress any farther. "We have to find Marius. If we don't we will be skinned alive and left out for the wolves, and that's not including what Mom will do to us." He turned to Lucy. "Can you help us?"

She stared back at for a moment then looked back at Romulus. "We'll find your friend, and then I will point in the right direction. But that's best I can do. If you haven't notice we are under attack."

"Under attack by what?" snapped Romulus.

"That's classified," Lucy coldly replied. She wasn't as good as his mom at hiding her emotions. Her eyes clearly read fear.

"But it's just a bunch of monsters, right?" asked Remus. What else could it be?

She gave him a grim look. "That's not your problem."

"But we can help you," retorted Romulus. "You're obviously on a mission. We can fight."

"Thanks, but no thanks," said Lucy pulling out her own flashlight.

"But−"

"Look Sunshine, I don't make the rules. I just keep them. No tattoo, not fighting. It's for your own good."

"I don't need you to look after me," snapped Romulus.

Lucy sighed. "It's not really on my wish list either kid, but you're a civilian and its part of my duty."

"And we are very grateful that you are," Remus intervened. "But we really need to find−"

Romulus grabbed Lucy's arm and pulled up her sleeve revealing a tattoo of two crossed spears above the initials SPQR and two bar lines beneath it.

"I knew it!" exclaimed Romulus. "You're nothing more than a newbie."

"That's two years more experience than you, kid." Lucy snapped taking back her arm.

"You're not on a mission," retorted Romulus. "They would never send a second year off on her own."

"How would you know?" growled Lucy, but the way she said it made Remus think that Romulus was probably right. "You have no clue what's going on. You're just a couple of Prats."

"What did you call us?" spat Romulus.

"Prats," Lucy calmly replied. "Praetor's kids."

"And that's a bad thing?" Remus asked. He always thought being the son of two of the greatest praetors in Camp Jupiter's history made him special or at least somewhat interesting.

"You've lived a shelter life, believing you are the greatest warrior that has ever live when I doubt that have even ever faced a monster let alone go beyond the city's walls."

"Put up your knife and we will what kind of warrior I am," stated Romulus.

But Lucy just looked at him like he was just a little kitten hissing. "A true warrior doesn't need to prove him worth. A true warrior would put his energy into the mission on hand like finding your little friend."

"She's right, Rom," said Remus holding his brother back by the shoulder. "We need to find Marius."

Romulus gave him an evil glare before snatching the flashlight from his hand and marching down the tunnel. They slowly followed behind.

"Sorry about him," Remus mumbled to Lucy. "He's−"

"A pain in the _podex_?" She finished for him.

"Yeah," agreed Remus.

Cleo tugged on the bottom of Lucy's jacket. "Yes?"

"Are you really from Camp Jupiter?" asked Cleo.

"Yes. Yes, I am," Lucy proudly replied.

"Have you killed anyone yet?" Cleo excitedly asked.

"Umm, no," Lucy replied slowly.

Cleo looked her with disappointment. "That's too bad," she mumbled before running to join Romulus.

Lucy glanced back at Remus with a confused look.

"She takes after our mother," said Remus hoping this would be enough of explanation.

Lucy sighed like she was starting regret getting involved with their family, and Remus couldn't blame her. He wasn't sure if he could trust Lucy just yet, but anyone who could somewhat control Romulus is worth keeping around. Now, if they could just find Marius their lives would be saved, or so he thought.


	5. Cleo V

_Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. My dad was hit by a car while riding his bike and I had to look after him and the family business. He's alright now. Luckily, he only broke some minor bones. I am really glad to be back. I hope this chapter was worth the wait._

_I promise to update quicker next and reply to all your guys' reviews. :) _

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**CLEO**

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**_A jar of jellybeans,_** a nose plug, and an eight-pack of apple juice was all Cleo needed to survive the cramp space underneath her brother's be It wasn't her ideal way to spend a Saturday morning, but desperate measures required desperate actions. This was a time of crisis.

In all, it wasn't that bad when compared to the alternative. Cleo actually shocked by the lack of stuff shoved under Romulus' bed. Some old socks and a couple of shoe boxes filled with playing cards of famous Roman generals was all she could find with the limited light. There was a questionable smell coming from dark left corner that she had absolutely no desire to explore.

Cleo was pulling another hand full of jelly beans out of her Mom's jar when she heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. She immediately tucked herself as far under the bed as the wall would allow, curling herself into a little ball. Her heart was beating so hard she was sure it would attract the attention of anyone who entered the room. But she was only able to breathe a sigh of relief when she recognized her Daddy's voice.

"She took your mom's stash of jelly beans," he chuckled from the hallway.

"We won't see her for hours then." That was brother's voice, Romulus by the tone of it.

"I don't blame her," replied her father. "I would be half way to New York by now if I was her."

Cleo knew Daddy would understand. She felt bad for hiding from him, but she knew that no matter how bad he felt for her, he would do whatever Mommy asks him to do. Daddy always listens to Mommy.

"I doubt she would be in here."

"She better not be in my room!" snapped Romulus. Cleo smiled. Her older brother was so easy to anger, and it never got old.

"I'm going to look in my room again. Go look in her room and see if you can find her. I told your mother we would find her before she got back and you know how she gets when she is stressed out."

There were footsteps heading out of the room followed by silence. She figured she had at least brought herself a few more hours before she would need to change her hiding space. She was about to close her eyes for a nice long nap with her brother spoke to her.

"It's safe to come out, you know," said Romulus. "Mom took Aunt Hylla out for dinner. They won't be back for a while." He jumped onto his bed causing the springs to push down on her. He then leaned over the edge and look at her upside down.

Cleo hissed at him when she saw his face. Her hiding spot was ruined because of his, and it would take her weeks of planning to come up with one as perfect as this one.

"Remus went with them," Romulus continued. "The suck-up. It's pathetic what he does just to get a pat on the head."

"If he wants to be her favorite he can have her," growled Cleo.

"I really don't get why you are fighting this so much," replied Romulus readjusting himself so he was sitting on the floor. "I mean, I know she sucks, but Aunt Hylla is like, the Queen of Amazons, she will get you anything to want."

"Yeah, and it will only cost me my soul," retorted Cleo. She hated when Aunt Hylla visited. The amount of kissing and squeezing she had to put up with should only be save for the darkest of soul entering Hades.

And it was just because she was a girl which is completely unfair. Her brothers didn't get choked or slobbered on. They got socks. No one ever asked Cleo if she wanted awesome socks.

"It might be worth it," mumbled Romulus.

"Have you lost your mind?" exclaimed Cleo. "She's psycho!"

"Yeah, but she gives you stuff."

"Well, why don't you borrow one of my dresses and see if she will take you," snapped Cleo. "With those baby blues and luscious locks you might be able to pull it off."

Cleo squealed when Romulus' hand reached underneath the bed. He yanked hard on her arm but she was able to hold her ground by wrapping her other arm around the bed's leg. Accepting defeat, Romulus grabbed the jar of jelly beans from under the bed and began eating them.

She laid there listening to her brother pop jelly beans into her mouth for a while before finally crawling out from under the bed. She knew she was doomed anyways. She might as well spend her last few minutes of freedom eating jelly beans.

"She wants to take me away again," Cleo whispered as Romulus passed her the jar.

"What?"

"I heard her talking to Mommy early this morning. She wants to take me on another trip, without Mom this time"

"Seriously?" choked Romulus. "Even with what happen last time?"

"I know!" She exclaimed. "People just don't appreciate a good tantrum when they see it anymore." Last time Aunt Hylla decided they needed a little "girl time" it took her three full days of good quality screaming to get her home.

"It's not going to happen," said Romulus.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because Mom throws a fit when you are out of her sight for a couple of hours, no one she would let you be separate from her for couple days even with her older sister."

"She has given in before."

"Dad won't," Romulus added shaking his head. "Especially after he saw how upset you got last time."

"I don't know." Cleo played with the jelly beans in hand. The thought of going anywhere alone with Aunt Hylla made her feel so sick that she couldn't even enjoy her favorite snack.

"And if they don't stop her, I will."

"Really?" She turned to look at her big brother.

"Of course," stated Romulus. "I'm tired of Aunt Hylla charging into our home, thinking she can insult our father and change everything."

"Yeah, she stinks," she agreed taking another handful of jelly beans.

"Come on," said Romulus standing up. He picked up the jelly bean jar. "We don't want Dad worrying about you."

"What about Aunt Hylla?"

"We will have Dad tell her that you went to bed early," replied Romulus.

"I don't want to go to bed early!"

Romulus rolled his eyes. "We will just tell her that you did, you don't actually have to. We can stay up and we can think something good to mail to the Amazons for when Aunt Hylla gets home. A dead fish perhaps?"

"Really?" Romulus always had the best ideas.

"Yeah," said Romulus leading her out of his room. "I might even let you look through my War Encyclopedia."

That was how the order of things went in her house. When Mommy couldn't take care of her, Daddy did, and when both of them were busy Romulus was in charge.

Mommy

Daddy

Romulus

Cleo

Aurum

Argentum

Remus

That was the order. The thing the Cleo was unsure about was where this new girl, Lucy, fitted in. Sure she was able to get the jump on Romulus, but that isn't that hard when he is all stream coming out of his nose. And she hadn't killed anyone yet even though she had already been at Camp Jupiter for two years, which is very disappointing results.

Romulus mumbled angrily next to Cleo as they walked while her other brother, the Golden Retriever, talked Lucy to death.

"Thank you so much for helping us again. You have no idea how much this means to us. I mean, with our parents and parents' friends missing. I really hope they are alright. I mean, I am sure they are. I just wish they were here. Well, not here, here. We need to find Turtle first because if we don't Mom will kill us which will be very bad because I have geography test week and I have been studying and it would be a shame if I wasted all that time studying something I−"

"For Jupiter's sake, Remus! SHUT UP!" snapped Romulus.

Remus gave them an apologetic look. "Sorry, I tend to talk when I am nervous."

"I can see that," glared Lucy before turning to Romulus. "And you keep your voice down. We don't want anyone to find us."

"Who's anyone?" exclaimed Romulus giving her a long cold stare. "At lease tell us what we should be looking out for."

"I told you that is need to know information," Lucy growled returning the glare.

"Well, _we_ need to know," retorted Romulus.

"No, you don't," snapped Lucy.

"Is it big? Small? Multi-limb? Fire breathing? What?"

"It's−" Lucy paused. She looked Romulus over one more time as if she was trying to determine if he was capable of attain the information she was withholding. "Complicated."

"Well, that's just great. Very helpful," growled Romulus rolling his eyes.

"But the Romans are fighting it, right?" Cleo interjected. "That's what we do. Fight the monsters."

"There is fighting going on alright," Lucy mumbled. She seemed sad which didn't make a lot of sense of Cleo. Fighting is a good thing. Romans were supposed to love fighting. So why didn't Lucy?

They walked in silence for a while. The sewer, it seemed, to go on forever. Cleo wished they would find Turtle soon because she was starting to get tired again. All she could think about was her nice warm bed. Not sleep was evil.

"This isn't right," stated Remus. "Turtle is only two years old. He couldn't have gotten this far on his own."

"You got a point," agreed Lucy. "Maybe we should head back."

Romulus gave a frustrated growled, but he anger it seemed had gone passed words. Everyone else had turned around and begun marching back the way they came, leaving Cleo in slowly approaching darkness. Something had caught her eye. A deep blood red envelope was hanging from one the pipes in front of her.

"Cleo?"

"Romulus look! Pretty!" She exclaimed running towards it.

As Romulus returned with the flashlight she was able to get a better look at the strange new mail. It was sticking to the pipe by duct table, but that wasn't the really interesting part. There was a gold seal melted onto envelope imprinted with a flying eagle and the letter R.

"That's the praetor's seal," said Remus though none of them needed to be told.

Romulus grabbed the envelope and ripped it open before anyone else got the chance to even think about doing so.

"What does it say?" asked Lucy.

"It's from Praetor Cornelia. She says she's got Turtle and that she brought him back to Camp Jupiter because she didn't have time to find us. She wants us to come and get him."

"Oh, thank Juno," said Remus breathing a sigh of relief.

Cleo looked back at Lucy expecting to see her happy to finally be rid of them, but instead she looked the same Remus did when Cleo told him that she had dropped her recently lost tooth in the cereal bowl he just ate.

"That's not possible," Lucy stammered.

"Why not?" Romulus asked studying her carefully.

"Because Praetor Cornelia died last night."

"What?" They all shouted at once.

"Are you sure?" asked Remus.

"I think I know a dead girl with a spear through her heart when I see one," Lucy retorted. She grabbed the letter from Romulus' hand and read it for herself. "This is a trap."

"A trap?" Romulus repeated. "But it has the official praetorian seal on it. You can't fake that."

"You don't have to if you break in the _principia,_ and steal it off the praetor's desk," answered Lucy.

"But the_ principia_ is the most guarded building in Camp Jupiter. No one can break into there," argued Romulus.

"Exactly," stated Lucy.

The three Graces exchange looks, but none of them seemed understand what she was getting at.

Lucy gave a long sighed. "Camp Jupiter isn't being invaded."

"Sure it's not. It just a bunch dust bunnies that took out every single light in Rome, broke down our door, and are holding our parents at knife point," retorted Romulus.

"Camp Jupiter isn't under attack," repeated Lucy giving Romulus a death glare. "Camp Jupiter is the attack. Camp Jupiter is attacking New Rome."

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_I am not one to brag, but let me just say my plot for this story kicks my plot for my MoA in the podex. If anyone gets where I am heading you will not only get a cookie but a full jar of jelly beans!_

_And one more think before I sign off, not one single mention Lucy in their review last time which makes me wonder how you think of her as an OC. Good, bad or ugly let me hear because it's not too late to fix it._

_And as always I appreciate any mistakes people point out to me. I always go back and fix them._

_In summary, please review. :)_

_Happy Labor day everyone!_


	6. Reyna VI

**REYNA**

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_**Under normal circumstances**_, the sudden appearance of Camp Jupiter soldiers invading Reyna's home would have brought on a number of questions to her mind. Why are Camp Jupiter soldiers attacking her home? Was it really necessary to break down the door? Why is that boy carrying a chicken? (Really, who brings a chicken to a raid?) Then a sword is hurdled towards her head, and she remembers what is exactly important at that particular moment.

Reyna met the oncoming blade with her dragger and thrust the weapon back away from her. Reyna went to attack. She was prepared to go all mother bear on him, but then she got a good look at his face. He was so young. She couldn't do it. Their weapons weakly tapped together. This is what motherhood did to her.

She played the offensive, allowing the boy soldier to do the attacking. For a few moments, her mind reverted back to her praetor days. She was back teaching an elite class a few of her moves. But then there were two of them, and soon three, and Reyna wasn't just playing the offensive anymore. It was her only option.

Reyna did her best to keep close to Jason, but there was too soldiers in too tight of space for their normal strategy. She wondered if Jason was having the same trouble she was. She couldn't bring herself to kill or severely wound any of them, so she just knocked them out of range or tossed them over the couch. But they just kept coming.

She hadn't heard the sound of Frank's bow since the beginning of the attack. But that wasn't the right weapon for this battleground. At one point she thought she saw drop of blood running down Hazel's face, but she could have been mistaken. She trusted Frank and Hazel to look after each other.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Jason start to struggle. Something was wrong. Someone grabbed her from behind, trying to prevent her from going to the aid of her husband. She retaliated quickly, punching him in his face with such force that his grip on her loosened. But just as soon as she was release, she was grabbed again, this time by three new soldiers.

Reyna wasn't stupid. She knew the numbers of Camp Jupiter. She knew they were hopeless outnumbered. But she fought anyways. Her only thought being to get to Jason, to see how badly hurt he was. She barely noticed the tall beefy solider enter the room.

Like the others, he was dressed in Camp Jupiter gear, but his armor included a medallion displaying his status as a centurion. Reyna didn't recognize him which meant he was most likely a demigod instead of a legacy. With a military style haircut and strong muscular arms, he look just like one of those tough guys the Second Cohort was always picked up, nothing special, a dime-a-dozen. But the way he spoke, it confused Reyna. It was not Roman like.

"No, no, no," he cooed when he entered the room. "This is not how we treat our friends."

"We-are-not-friends," spat Jason. Reyna's heart jumped. He was at lease able to speak, though he sounded weak.

The large soldier looked to see where the voice came from. He walked across the room to Jason, standing over him like giant studying an ant. "And why would you say something like that?"

"You broke into my home, try to hurt my family, and oh yeah, you stabbed me, so excuse me if I'm not in the budding mood," growled Jason using the last of energy.

Frowning, he slid his gladius underneath Jason's throat. "Yeah, sorry about that, I'll get you a new door." He removed his weapon from Jason's neck. "Let's start over." He turned and grinned at them. "Hi! I'm Brennus." He waved his hot dog thick fingers at them.

"Hi Brennus. Nice to meet you," said Frank giving him a fake smile. "Now get out!"

"Come on now. I'm not a bad guy." Brennus turned his eyes onto Reyna. It was extremely uncomfortable the way he studied her, top to bottom. "Let her go."

His soldiers immediately obeyed his order. Reyna was release, but she didn't more. She kept staring into Brennus' eyes, waiting for his next move. He smiled creepily at her, before nodding his head in Jason's direction.

Reyna ran to Jason and wrapped her arms around him. The lower part of his shirt was soaked in blood, but it was hard to tell how bad off he was without taking a closer look. Her stomach turned when her met the warm sticky liquid. One thing she knew for sure was that she needed to stop the bleeding and quickly.

"I'm fine," Jason whispered squeezing her hand. "Don't worry."

"See? I'm not so bad," said Bennus.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" shouted Reyna. Jason had warned her about her temper before, but she really didn't about that at the moment. She was ready to claw out this Brennus' throat out with her bare hands. "You're soldiers of Rome. You swore an oath to protect the citizens of Rome. Have you no honor?"

All the soldiers in the room laughed, Brennus being the loudest. "Sweetheart, I got nothing but honor. It's your folks that always seem to have trouble with it." He lifted gladius and the room fell silent again.

"Now friends," Brennus started again. "A little birdy told me that you some information for me. Tell me the truth and we can stay friends. Lie to me, and well, I'm going to have to replace a lot more than just your door because it will get pretty messy in here."

"What do you want to know?" asked Reyna. She wasn't planning on telling anything, but the more she knew about him the better.

"We are looking for a dear old colleague of ours named Camillus," said Brennus speaking as if the name brought a bad taste to his mouth. "We fell out of contact over the years, a pity, and we were so hoping to catch up again."

"Camillus?" Reyna repeated. "Never heard of him."

"Now, what did I tell you about lying," sighed Brennus placing his blade underneath her neck.

"She's telling the truth!" cried Hazel. The soldier restraining her shook her to be quiet.

"Hey Boss," called one the soldiers behind him. He whispered something into Brennus' ear.

"Aw yes." Brennus nodded. "I have been told that he sometimes goes by another name. Does the name Romulus ring any bells?"

The first thought that came to Reyna's mind was, 'What did Romulus do now?' But that was habit talking, not logic. Reyna went back through her mind seeing if she could remember connection between this Camillus guy and her eldest son.

The reorganization must have shown on her face because Brennus smiled. "So, I am in the right place."

"Hey, whatever the little brat did you don't you think this is a little overkill?" said Frank.

"You have no idea," smiled Brennus before turning back to Reyna. "Where is he?"

"Not here," she quickly replied.

"Then where?"

Reyna clenched her jaw.

"Ok, how do you know him?"

"He's my son."

Brennus smiled. "Oh! Hello there Mommy. Now tell me, where did your little duckling run off to?"

"This is nuts," cried Hazel. "Romulus is just a child."

"And so am I!" Brennus laughed. The other soldiers laughed along as if they were sharing an inside joke, but they all stopped the same second Brennus did.

"Enough play." He took the gas lamp from the kitchen table and unscrewed the bottom. Oil began dropping out from the bottom and onto the floor. Brennus waved his arm around so the oil was spread evenly across the floor. "Tell me where he is."

The realization of what he was about to do slowly sunk in. "No"

Brennus smiled. "Oh yes."

Reyna glanced over to Hazel who was already starting to panic. Even Reyna's mind began to race when Brennus took out his lighter and flicked it on. Instinctually, they both looked over to the table.

"Never fails," Brennus laughed extinguishing the flame. "Poor things can't help it."

With one swift kick, the table and the rug slide back revealing the trap door. Two of the soldiers grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.

"Please, don't hurt them," cried Hazel.

Reyna looked away. She couldn't stand to watch, so she turned attention back to Jason. His face was beginning to look pale. There were a few minutes of agonizing silence, while Reyna waited for the sounds of her screaming children.

"There's nothing down here."

Reyna quickly spun around. The soldiers were already starting to climb back up.

"What?" screamed Brennus. The fake cheerful tone was gone.

"There's nothing there," the soldier slowly answered.

Brennus grabbed the soldier's shirt and tossed him back down the hole.

"You!" he shouted. He grabbed Reyna's arms and yanked her up to her feet. "Where is he?"

"Not here," she smiled. Her children were safe, at least for now.

Brennus growled like some kind of a wild cat. "Search the streets! Search to whole damn city if you must!" He threw Reyna back onto the ground. "Find them!" Brennus shouted. "FIND THEM!"

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_For all those people who read my story but don't review: Marco_


	7. Romulus VII

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been a long time since I updated, but I am sure you can understand why. I just hope you didn't forgot about this story. I will try to update faster next time.

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**ROMULUS**

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**_It was just like he was in one of his books._**

Darkness ate away the once recognizable streets. Soldiers stood standing guard at almost every corner. Romulus lit his way with the gold light shining from his _gladius_, although it was hardly necessary. He had been exploring these streets since he could walk and knew them like the back of his hand.

Romulus dodged and crept in the shadows, avoiding the eyes of the stupid soldiers standing guard. Part of him just wanted to jump out and end all of these pathetic accuse for a soldier's lives, but he knew there was nothing to gain from it, so he kept moving.

He was able to move a lot faster without his brother and sister weighing him down. He left them behind in the sewer with strict orders to keep moving towards the border. Lucy had left them a few minutes earlier. Romulus had offered to go with her, but she refused.

"This isn't a job for children." Romulus replayed her stupid annoying voice back in his head.

Who did she think she was? Ordering him around like that. Two years of experience and she thought she was Hercules.

Lucy had promised them that she would return Turtle back to them safe and sound. But Turtle was part of his family, and if anyone was going to save him it was going to be him.

Romulus so absorbed by his anger that he almost waked straight into the path of a Camp Jupiter soldier. He didn't believe Lucy at first, when she told him that Camp Jupiter was invading New Rome, but with the evidence right in front of his eyes, he couldn't deny it, Romulus couldn't make out his face, but he did recognize the armor and the long_ gladius _at the soldier's side. Yes, they looked like Romans.

Munity was common among armies, so Romulus wasn't that surprise if centurion was trying to overthrow a praetor. Praetor Quintus was such an idiot, he deserved to be overthrown. But killing? What was the point of that?

Praetor Cornelia was loved by a lot of people. She visited Romulus' school once and had answered all of his questions about being praetor, even though he was just a little annoying kid. He was sad that she died, but he was even more appalled at the stupidity of these evil Romans. If you were staging a takeover, the last thing you do is create a martyr.

He had finally reached the outer wall of New Rome. At ten feet tall, the carved stone wall was used for both decoration and protection. But the protectors of New Rome weren't properly warned about the invasion, so of course the gates were left wide open for anyone wanting to invade. Romulus made a mental note to make an amendment when he became praetor to keep the gates of New Rome closed at night.

Creeping behind a stone pedestal, Romulus spotted three buff soldiers kept guard at the gate. But the invading must have thought they had the situation completely under control, because these soldiers were definitely part of their Zeta-crew. Two of the guards were playing patty cake, while the third stood picking his nose. These idiots were just asking for him to kick their _podex_.

Gripping his sword, Romulus quickly analyzed the distance between his hidden spot and the guards, and the amount it would take him to reach a suitable distance to attack. With his plan fully figured out in his head, Romulus prepared himself for battle. But right before he was about to attack, a loud muffling sound broke his focus. It sounded close by, so Romulus abandon his attack plan and decided to investigate, for the time being, of course.

He doubled back, walking along the wall until he came upon a very strange sight. In one the many coves decorating the wall was an upside down paper bag. As Romulus approached it, he noticed that it was jerking back and forth in an attempt to uncover itself.

"I curse the tree that you were born from! I strangle the seed of which you were−"

"_Terminus_?" Romulus asked, recognizing the voice. Everyone in New Rome knew the boundary god protection their walls, most, however, did not like him and his ridiculous rules.

"Hark! Who go there? I'm warning you−"

"Terminus, it's me," Romulus quickly interrupted. "Romulus Grace."

"Grace? Oh yes, I knew your father and mother. Great heroes they were. Great Romans too."

Romulus rolled his eyes. That was the typical response from people when he told them that his parents were the great Jason and Reyna Grace. He stood staring at the paper bag, waiting for him to say more.

"Well! Don't just stay there, boy! GET THIS BAG OFF MY HEAD!" Terminus shouted.

"Oh, alright," Romulus mumbled. He didn't particularly want to help the stone statue, but he didn't see that he had a choice. Besides, he had a few questions for the supposedly guard of New Rome.

"Come on boy! Chop! Chop!"

"Ok, ok, don't get your pedestal in a bunch," Romulus snapped back.

He lighted the bag off the angry statue's head. Part of him wished that he left the bag on because he never thought Terminus was the best looking statue in New Rome. He guessed his ugliness was part of his border protecting techniques.

"Terminus, what happen? And how does the god of boundaries get a paper bag over his head?"

"Oh, aren't you one to criticized," mocked Terminus. "Why in my day−"

Romulus shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Terminus, New Rome is under attack."

"What? Impossible! That would never happen under my watch."

Romulus sighed. "But it did. Camp Jupiter soldiers just attacked my house. My mom and dad are fighting them right now. That is, if they haven't been captured." He kept his voice steady, though didn't feel very stable.

"Camp Jupiter soldiers? Oh no, you got it all wrong. I let them in just before midnight. They were having an emergency senate meeting. Something about those pesky Greeks."

"Let me guess. That is when the bag got put on your head."

"Yeah, how do you know?"

Romulus shook his head. "It doesn't matter right now. I need to get to Camp Jupiter now, but I can't go through the gates without making a commotion. Is there another way for me to get to the other side?"

"Yes, of course there is."

"Then show me," Romulus snapped. He was starting to become very weary of this conversion.

"Are you kidding? You're just a minor! I can't allow a child running around at night outside of the walls."

Nothing ticked Romulus more than being called a child. "Yeah, well you are just a stupid statue! I'll find my own way out," he snapped swing his sword in front of Terminus' face.

Terminus eyes grew wide at the sight of his _gladius_."A WEAPON! A WEAPON INSIDE OF THE GATES OF ROME!"

Romulus tried silencing the statue, but it was too late. He could already hear the sound of footsteps approaching them. This was bad. Romulus wanted to be the ambusher not the ambushie.

He scanned the wall looking for a crack or a ledge that he could to scale the wall. It was times like these that made Romulus really wish that he had inherited some of his father's flying skills.

In front of him, Terminus continued shorting insults at him completely unaware of the approaching soldiers. "YOU! INSOLENT CHILD! HOW DARE YOU BRING A WEAPON INSIDE MY WALLS!"

An explosion blasted Romulus off his feet while a cloud of dirt and smoke blinded his vision. Next thing he knew, he was lying face down in the dirt outside of the walls of New Rome.

He scanned the horizon for signs of life before picking himself off of the ground.

"There! Told you I would find my way out," Romulus smartly remarked to the open air.

He snatched his _gladius_ up and began walking down the long path to Camp Jupiter.

Despite living only a few feet from it, Romulus had only visited Camp Jupiter a handful of times on school trips. Camp Jupiter was a military camp and not a place for 'children' they told him. But sometimes he would stay up and watch the lights of Camp Jupiter through his window.

There weren't any lights now, but Camp Jupiter covered in darkness still facilitated the same response from him. He knew he belonged there. He had known it all his life. His mother had gone there, and so had his father. They had ruled the camp and in just few months when he training would finally begin, he would too. All this school and baby stuff was just a distraction from who he was really supposed to be, a soldier of Rome.

Getting into Camp Jupiter was no problem for him. He had been studying Camp Jupiter's blueprints for years now during his spare time, so he knew where all the entrances were. But once again, he was disappointed by the opponent's defenses.

There was only two guard standing guard at the main entrance, and Romulus was easily able to sneak past them when they had their backs turned.

Camp Jupiter itself was also bare. Romulus assumed it because the majority of the manpower was being used to control the people in New Rome, but as he walked deeper into the camp he realized that a large group of soldiers were gathering at the center of the camp.

It was like they were having a pep rally. Soldiers from all five cohorts stood in full armor around a gigantic bon fire that was definitely not a part of Camp Jupiter's original design. Chairs and tables seemed to have been plundered from the mess hall and stack to fuel the fire. Even from behind the Third's barrack, Romulus was able to feel the heat of the blaze. The soldier must have been cooking inside their armor, but these soldiers were well trained because held their ground. However, their leader must have not been present because they were calmly chatting amongst each other.

Romulus felt that is was safe to move closer, so he did. He snuck behind the Second's barrack. The soldiers looked like regular Camp Jupiter campers, but when he played closer attention to the fire he noticed something that was extremely disturbing. It wasn't just the chairs and tables from the mess hall that were used to lit the fire, but the banners that hung in the hall too. Romulus watched in horror as the image of a golden eagle and the letters SPQR were lost in the flames. Whatever this was, things had gotten way out of control.

Then just as he was planning his next move of act, someone slammed his face into the wall. They kept their arm pressed against his neck, so he wasn't even able turn his head to who his attacked was. They also twisted his arms together behind his back in a very painful position.

"Tell me. Were you just born this stupid or did your parents drop you on your head when you were little?" Lucy hissed into his ear.

He tried to throw her off him, but her grip on him was too strong. "Let me go," he growled.

She didn't let him go. Instead, Lucy pressed his face harder into the wood of the wall. "I told you not to follow me."

Romulus pushed his against the wall, but it didn't do him any good. Lucy had him in a Herculean Hold. A fat good knowing the name of the move did him. There was no way out of it.

"Don't scream," she threatened before eventually releasing him.

He whipped himself around to face her. Lucy had her sword pointed at his throat again, as if she was waiting for him to speak. Her black hoodie was pulled over her head, but her gold eyes shown in the darkness. He could feel the heat rising from his face. This girl had gotten the jump on him twice in one day.

"I guess it's too late to send you back." Lucy glared at him. "Stay behind me, and don't do anything." She turned her back to him and kept her attention on the soldiers around the bon fire.

Romulus mocked her commands underneath his breath before following her gaze. "Who do they think they are? Burning the banners."

"They killed a praetor. Who cares about a stupid flag?" Lucy spat.

He opened his mouth to object, but she waved him down.

"We need to find Quintus."

"What?" Romulus objected. "What about Marcus?"

"If they are keeping prisoners then they are probably keeping them in the same place," explained Lucy. "And even if they are not, we need Quintus' help."

"We don't need anything from that idiot," he retorted.

Lucy threw him an anger look. "In a few years, that idiot will be your praetor so try to show some respect," she snapped.

"Actually, I start training in August."

"Oh great," Lucy sighed sarcastically. "If I survive tonight then I will have something to look forward to." She turned her back on him again. Something was happening with soldiers

Romulus had to stand on his stand on his tippy toes in order see over Lucy's stupid tall shoulder. Part of the crowd began to part ways while the rest stood at attention. Someone had arrived.

He looked around seventeen years old, tall, muscular, and really ugly, but Romulus was pretty sure he could take him.

"Is he the one that killed Cornelia?"

Lucy hushed him and kept watching.

"How am I supposed to help you if you won't tell me anything?"

"You're not supposed to help. You're supposed to do nothing. Now, shut up and let me listen."

A centurion walked out of the mess hall. He was about the same age and built as the boss guy, but he had dark black skin.

"Brennus," the centurion nodded. "How did the negotiations go?"

"About as well as the last time, Belinus," Brennus smirked. "Stupid Romans."

Belinus walked and slapped Brennus on the back. "Well, it doesn't matter, brother, because I got you a present!"

"A present!" Brennus cheered. "Brother, you shouldn't have."

"Well, I know how important today is for you," Belinus grinned. He waved his arm and another soldier came out of the Mess hall except this one was holding a baby.

"Marius!" Romulus exclaimed.

Lucy hit him. "Be quiet!"

"I present the mighty Camillus!" Shouted Belinus as the soldier held up Turtle like he was Simba in Lion King. A roaring laughter exploded from the crowd, but Brennus didn't seem that amused with his gift.

Brennus walked towards the young infant, studying him carefully. Then he unsheathed his sword.

Romulus jumped up, but Lucy pushed him back.

"Just watch," she ordered him, and for once Romulus felt compelled to obey.

Brennus held out his sword and gave Turtle a harmless poke. Turtle, who was completely unfazed by the hundreds of soldiers and humongous fire before him, thought this was hilarious and burst into laughter. Brennus laughed along with him before suddenly stopping. The crowd immediately followed suit.

"This isn't Camillus," he stated.

"What?" Belinus cried out in disbelief. "But he was in the sewers like you told us he would be."

"You honestly think that Camillus would be a baby?" Brennus retorted.

"I− Well, we didn't get that much of a choice," muttered Belinus. "I honestly would have preferred a body with a beard."

Brennus shook his head. "We need to find Camillus."

Belinus smiled. "Never fear brother. Lucky for you, I was born with the brains of this family. I left a note in the sewers telling them where we had taken the infant. They should be on their way now. I addressed the note from Praetorian Cornelia."

They laughed as if they were remembering a pleasant memory. It made Romulus' blood boil.

"What did you do with the others in the house?" Belinus asked and Romulus' ears perked up. The others in the house were his parents, but he hadn't heard from them since he had left.

"I have some guards watching them now. I couldn't move risk moving them. They were throwing a fit because one of them got stabbed. It doesn't matter though, he won't last much longer."

Romulus' eyes burned with fury. That was his father they were talking about. His father that gave everything to save Camp Jupiter and New Rome when he was younger and they were just going to let him die just like he was day old news. Well, not on Romulus' watch.

Before Lucy could stop him, Romulus leaped out from his hidden spot and confronted Brennus.

"You think you are so tough?" Romulus shouted swinging his sword. "Try me on for size!"

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Please review.


	8. Jason VIII

_**Yes, I'm not died. Sorry it took so long for me to update. I wasn't really in the mood after reading Mark of Athena. You can guess why. Anyways, I really want to finish this story, but I am a really lazy writer so motivation in the form of reviews would be greatly appreciation. Also I am looking for a beta for this story. If you are interested please message with your credentials. Now, please enjoy this cute little chapter.**_

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**JASON**

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Jason had fought a sea monster, defeated a titian, fought in two wars and ended a feud between two camps that had spanned over thousands of years, but nothing quite prepared him for becoming a father.

Everyone kept telling how excited he should feel about becoming a father, but all Jason felt was a mixture of confusion, panic, and a bit of nausea. He didn't know the first thing about being a father. He was raised by wolves for goodness sake!

And his own father, now there's a good joke, the great almighty Jupiter didn't call on him unless the world was ending. No pressure there.

Jason guessed he shouldn't feel so bad. If there was one think his childhood taught him it was that you don't need a father to survive. So, he couldn't possibly screw up his kids' lives too badly.

For the first time that night, the house was silent, but Jason still couldn't sleep. After all today's excitement, it would have taken Somnus himself to get Jason to fall asleep. They kept telling him to relax. Women around the world give birth every single day. It's completely natural.

It definitely didn't sound natural.

That's where his hero instincts really screwed him over. He could hear Reyna screaming out in pain, but there was nothing he could do about it. It went on for hours. Jason swore it was going to drive him mad. Hylla threatened to kick him at least five times before it was over.

That was another thing he hated about this whole baby business. Hylla was a complete nightmare, protecting her precious little sister. She ranting for hours about how stupid he was, how he didn't know the first thing about having baby. (Which was true but she didn't need go around rubbing it in his face). He would have kicked Hylla out weeks ago if he didn't think it would have upset Reyna. She was already having a difficult time with her pregnancy; he didn't want to add to her discomfort. But even Hylla has her uses.

When Reyna told him that she in labor his entire mind went blank. (Although if his memory is correction, his reply was "Ok") Luckily, Hylla was there to handle everything and seventeen hours later there were two more baby boys in New Rome. Juno probably thought she gave Jason a gift, two firstborn sons, the equivalence of winning the lottery in Roman society. At least it wasn't a girl. Jason didn't want to listen to Hylla and Thalia fighting over who got to corrupt his daughter first. No, since it was two boys instead, Hylla turn her full attention to taking care of her little sister. Even went as far as kicking him out of his own room so Reyna could rest. Poor Reyna was too exhausted to argue.

So, Jason made himself comfortable on the downstairs' couch. It has been almost an hour since he had heard crying from the nursery. Jason started to wonder if he should worry. A guy from work had told him that babies don't usually sleep their first night, so silence is never a good sign. He decided to go upstairs to check on them.

He found them exactly where he expected to find them curled up in their crib. They were wrapped up tightly so that they looked more like little blobs than human babies: One red, one gold. Tiny tuffs of black hair stuck out from underneath their matching beanies. Thalia told him that they look just him when he was baby, minus the blonde hair, but Jason didn't really see it.

Jason was about leave when stifled cry stopped him in his track.

"No, no, no. Please don't cry," Jason begged. "Hylla will kill me."

But the little red blob began to wiggle.

"Please stop. I didn't mean to wake you." He figured he better pick him up before he woke up his brother.

He carefully lifted him from the crib and cradled him in him arms. Thalia had only taught him how to hold a baby a few hours, so he wasn't quite sure if he was doing right but it seemed to do the trick.

"Now, don't jump out of my arms or anything." Reyna would kill him if he dropped their baby.

"Everything's fine, Romulus. At least I think you're Romulus. Romulus is red and Remus is gold, or is it the other way around?" Jason was never going keep their names straight. "Well, you're Romulus now."

He felt bad for the kid. Not even a day old and he was already burden with his father's name. His legacy. He completed his first quest when he just ten, defeated a sea monster when he was thirteen, and, oh yeah, killed a titian when he was fifteen. And that's not including Reyna's accomplishments.

Jason knew actually was that was like, living in your father's shadow. The last thing Jason wanted was place that kind of pressure on something so young and innocent, but he guessed that couldn't be help now.

"You know, I don't really care what you do. You could fluke out of school, grow up to run a coffee shop or join the Fifth cohort. Actually, I would be proud if you were part of the Fifth. The Fifth is a great cohort, no matter your mother says about them. All I ask is that you give me the same allowance. I am kind new to this whole father thing. And between you and me, I have no idea what I am doing. So, take it easy on me. Ok?"

Romulus didn't seem to be getting any of this. His eyelids were too heavy for him to keep them open. Great, day one and Jason was already boring his son to sleep. But when he tried to lay him back down in his crib he started to cry again.

"Ok, ok. I guess I can just sit here and hold you for a little bit longer." Two hours passed and Jason was still holding him. It wasn't until Hylla charged into the room later that morning did that change.

A sudden jolt of pain woke Jason from his memories.

"Stop moving so much, you're making the bleeding worst."

Jason opened his eyes. It took him a minute to remember why he was he was lying on floor of their living room with Hazel and Frank. Oh yeah, he was stabbed.

Reyna was beside him, pressing a blood soaked rag onto his stomach. A half-empty bottle of ambrosia sat next to her.

"Where are the kids?" He asked her.

"I'm not sure, but Romulus got them out."

"Where did the other soldiers go?"

"Probably out to look for Romulus."

"What does−"

"I don't know." Her brow was wrinkled deep in concentration. He could see the subtle signs of worry on her face. "Now, hold still. You already lost a lot of blood and I don't want you blacking out again."

Jason sighed and laid his head back down into Reyna's lap.

"Don't worry, Reyna. Romulus will protect them. I know he will."

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_**I know the whole Jeyna thing is off canon now so please tell me if you are still interested in reading this story.**_


	9. Remus IX

REMUS

Being twins most people expected them to be inseparable, but Remus and Romulus were never quite into that whole twin thing. They didn't finish each other's sentences. They didn't have the same dreams. (Last night was an exception). They didn't spend every waking moment together, and they definitely didn't think the same way.

Most of time Remus did his best to keep out of Romulus' way because when they did interact, it was either Romulus' way or the face first into the ground with a bloody nose way. (He preferred the non-bloody opinion.) But with everything that had happen that night, with their home being attack and Turtle going missing, Remus felt the need to speak up before his brother led him and their five year old sister off a cliff and into a battle.

"Why don't you check the signal again?" Remus asked.

"There is none," Romulus replied without even glancing at the cell phone in his pocket.

"You didn't even check."

"Rem, we are at least fifty feet underground, we're not going to get a signal down here."

"We might. It could be a special Amazoney cell phone."

"A special Amazoney cell phone?" Romulus mocked.

"I'm tired" whined Cleo. She stopped behind them.

"You could at least pretend that care about our parents."

That wiped the smile off Romulus' face. "I do care."

Remus held out in his hand. "Then give me the phone."

He took the cell phone out of his pocket and gripped it tightly, "No."

"Then at least check the signal." Remus made sure to look him straight in the eyes when he talk, something he usually tried to avoid to do.

"We don't need Aunt Hylla's help. I can handle it." His eyes lit up as he spoke as if the fire that had been lit inside him was looking for a way out.

When Romulus spoke Remus knew his fears were confirmed. His brother had lost it. The fire wasn't just lighting up Romulus' eyes, it was cooking his brains. "You can't be serious. We are way over our heads."

"Don't be such a baby," Romulus sneered.

"Romulus, this isn't the time to play hero. We need to help our parents."

"You might not be able to handle, but I can."

"Me too!" added Cleo. "I can handle it. Go home, baby."

"I can't go home. Our home is under attack!" Remus exclaimed.

"Exactly! This is our chance to prove ourselves," Romulus countered.

"Well, I just want to make sure no one dies."Remus grabbed Romulus's arm. "Give me the phone."

Romulus twisted his arm and slammed him again the wall. "Do you seriously want to take me on?"

It was then when Remus remembered why he didn't usually take one Romulus. He did his best to try to push Romulus off him without much success. He was able get his arm untwisted and reached his hand into Romulus' pocket to retrieve the cell phone.

"Stupid brothers! Stop fighting!' Cleo shouted then she kicked Romulus' shin, but he just pushed her away. It was then when Remus felt the painful tickle of electricity flowing up his leg. He didn't understand why he was the one who got shock but at least it got his brother off of him. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only thing Romulus let go of. The cell phone slipped through his fingers, bounced on the concrete floor by Cleo's foot, then dropped into the brown mucky water.

"Cleo!" Romulus yelled. "Why didn't you catch it?"

"I'm tired! I haven't slept in like forever!" She yelled back. "It's not my fault my reflexes are no good."

"You could have at least tired!"

"Stop yelling at her, Romulus," Remus interjected. He kept one arm wrapped tightly one of the pipes just in case Romulus got the brilliant idea to throw him in after the phone.

Romulus growled. He was obviously still upset with being left behind by Lucy and with being shocked by Cleo. (That never put him in a good mood.) He turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going?" Remus demanded.

"To find Lucy," Romulus shouted over his shoulder.

"And do what?" But Romulus didn't answer him.

"Romulus! Wait for me!" Cleo cried but Remus grabbed her arm.

"You're staying with me." She pouted, but luckily didn't resist.

They watch as Romulus' light disappeared in the darkness. He didn't want his brother to go, but he also didn't want to get into another fist fight with him either. Remus would just have to tell their mother that Romulus died of his own stupidity.

Cleo tugged on his jacket. "I'm tired."

Remus sighed. "Alright Cleo, I'll carry you." He bent down so Cleo could climb onto his back.

He figured he should just keep going in the direction they were heading. Perhaps, it will lead them out of city to a place with a phone so he can call Aunt Hylla.

"I want to go home," said Cleo.

"I know, but we can't," he replied.

"Where are we going?"

"Hopefully to a place with a phone, so we can call Aunt Hylla."

Cleo growled. "I don't like Aunt Hylla."

"I know Cleo, but she's the only one that can help us right now."

"Romulus says we don't Aunt Hylla."

"Yeah," Romulus sighed. "He is also an idiot."

Cleo nodded. "Yep. But he's tough too, so−he's going to be alright? Right?"

A shiver of guilt ran up his spine. "Of course," he lied. "I haven't seen the wall that can stop him yet."

It was difficult carrying the bag, the flashlight and Cleo, but Remus kept going.

"This is taking too long," Cleo complained after a while. "Go faster!" She jammed her feet into his ribs.

"Cleo! Stop it! I'm not a horse."

She kicked him again. "Faster my slave."

Remus just rolled his eyes, and kept moving. It wasn't long after that when they can to a wall in the path, and there wasn't another path around.

"Great. What are we going to do now?" Remus asked himself.

"Go up," answered Cleo pointing to the ladder attached to the wall next them.

"But we don't know where that will lead."

"It's better than staying down here in this stinky place," replied Cleo. She jumped down and began climbing.

"Cleo wait! Maybe I should go first." Remus shouted, but Cleo was already half way up the ladder. He had no other choice but to follow her up.

They came up at Capitalol Hill. Their almighty brother had led them around in a circle, which Remus guessed, was better than off a cliff.

"Ducks!" Cleo exclaimed.

"What?" He followed her gazed. A think line of white geese surrounded the square building. It looked like they were waiting in line for a free feather fluffing at the Capital. Honestly, he didn't even know New Rome had that many geese within the city walls.

"You see them, Rem? Duckies at the Capital."

Remus hushed her. "Not ducks, Cleo. Geese."

Cleo shrugged her shoulder. "Same thing."

Remus looked around the rest of the street. The street lamps were still dark, and the pathways were still empty. Once in a while a crashing noise would an echo would bounced off the buildings, like a dark force slowly hunting them down. Not a good sign at all.

He turned back to her sister and found her attempting to pet one of the birds. "Careful Cleo," he told her, but the geese just stood there as she stroked his neck.

"They're guarding the Capital," she explained.

It definitely seemed like they were, but Remus haven't heard of Rome hiring out geese as solders, but after tonight he would believe anything. The Capital held all the historical documents of New Rome's past and present. It was also said to hold the heart of Rome, but Remus never quite understood that. How can a city have a heart?

There was another crash behind them. Remus assumed it was the soldiers were looking for them and they were getting closer.

"Come on, Cleo." He grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs.

"Wait! She cried. "The geese!"

"They'll be fine. They're guarding the Capitol remember?" Remus threw open the door and pulled himself and Cleo inside.

"Do you think they saw us?" Cleo asked.

"I don't think so." More like he really truly hoped they didn't, but he didn't want to scare his sister further. His own heart was already beating a thousand beats per minute.

Cleo pulled him down the entrance hall. "There's a bright light at the end of the hallway."

"Um−Don't we usually try to avoid heading towards bright lights in dark hallways?" Remus posed the question to Cleo, but another voice answered him instead.

"Yes, and aren't you the Grace children?"

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_**Sorry for the long wait for an update. I am a really lazy writer. Feel free to throw things at me next time to get an update. Please review :)**_


	10. Romulus X

ROMULUS

He would later admit that leaping into battle against an entire legion of Rome with nothing but a _gladius_ and his pajamas on his back was probably a bad idea. But Romulus couldn't help himself. When he got angry he just saw red, and all reason was expelled from his head.

Romulus charged at Brennus with his weapon in hand. Part of him was betting on Brennus being caught off guard from his surprise attack, but he was wrong. When Romulus swung his weapon at him Brennus immediately reacted, knocking Romulus' _gladius_ out of his hand like it was tin can. The sword flew up into the air then landed hilt up into the ground ten feet away.

Romulus turned back to Brennus who was looking at his like he was his next meal. His eyes were pitched black, but not in way that was calming or sincere like his mother's. There was a sense of chaos underneath those pupils, an aura of madness that was only made worse by the large grin upon his face.

"Look boys, we got ourselves a fighter."

Heat rose from Romulus' face as the soldiers around him began to laugh at him. He tried to focus energy into planning his next move but the fury building up inside him was too great. He wanted them all dead, especially Brennus.

"What's your name, boy?"

"None of your business," growled Romulus.

Brennus released a deep chuckle. "Look boy, you attacked me and I disarmed you. I have an army, you don't. When I ask you a question, you answer. Do you understand me?"

Romulus refused to drop his stare. He needed to answer but he didn't trust his mouth to not say something that would get him deeper into trouble.

Brennus accepted his silence for an answer. "What is your name?"

"Boy," Romulus quickly stated. His mother always told him that knowledge was power, and Romulus wasn't going to give Brennus another millimeter of advantage.

"Fine, Boy," Brennus spat. "How did you get out of the city? Because you are from the city unless PJs are standard armor for the Roman legion."

The soldiers surrounded started laughing again. Brennus turned to face them.

"You think that is funny?" Brennus shouted. The crowd immediately became silent. "A child was able to outwit all of you! Go reinforce the borders! I don't want anyone else to get out."

Romulus remained quiet. He had caused enough damage as it is. He wished that Lucy would do something instead of hiding behind some box watching his humiliation.

Brennus turned back to him. "And throw this one in jail with the other one."

Two soldiers came up behind up and picked him up so that his feet dragged on the floor. He tried to shake them off but their combined strength was much more powerful than his own. They dragged him away from dispersing crowd. He knew where they were taking him. There was small jail underneath the _principa._ Romulus had always wanted to visit place where the praetors did their work, he just didn't want to see it like this.

The soldiers threw him onto the floor of the jail. They then slammed the door shut and left without ever speaking a word to him.

Romulus jumped back and immediately started to scan him new surroundings. It was a simple jail of a reasonable size. The light came from the three torches lining the wall on the other side of the bars. He turned around and spotted someone sitting on the floor in the far corner of the jail. He had his head resting on his kneecaps so Romulus couldn't quite make out who it was.

"Who are you?" He demanded, but the prisoner didn't move.

The door of the prison opened again, and a soldier walked through. Half way down the stairs, the soldier took off his helmet revealing bright copper hair.

"Lucy?" There was a small part of him that was happy to see her, that is until she grabbed the top of his shirt and yanked him forwards so that his head crashed into the bars. The impact of the blow made the bars vibrate, and made Romulus' forehead was numb with pain.

"What was that for?" He exclaimed.

"For being the stupidest person I have ever met." Lucy's eyes focused on something over his shoulder. "Quintus?"

The prisoner looked up at the sound of his name. Lucy fumbled with the keys in her hand until it was able to unlock the cell door. She then pushed the door open and ran pass Romulus to Quintus' corner.

"Praetor Quintus, are you alright?" She asked with a surprisingly amount of concern. She knelt down beside him and waited for his response.

Quintus studied her face for a moment. "Lacy, isn't it?"

Romulus snorted loud enough for Lucy to him. The fool didn't even know the name of his own soldiers.

"Lucy," she corrected. "Lucy Burns, second year, from the First Cohort, sir." If she was unoffended, she was pretending not to be.

"Oh yes, that's right," he mumbled.

"What happen, Quintus?" Lucy asked.

He looked at her with hollow eyes. "It all happened, Lacy. It's all happening again."

Romulus rolled his eyes. They weren't going to get anything from this bumbling idiot. He turned his attention towards Lucy. "How were you able to get the keys and get down here so fast?"

"I was able to snatch the keys when you were distracting everyone by being an idiot. And," she paused. "The soldiers don't move very fast and they're not very observant, not in the way a Roman soldier should be. It's like they forgot who to work their bodies."

"It because it not their bodies," Quintus grumbled, looking back down at his hands.

"But how did you know they were going to put me down here?" Romulus asked.

"I didn't know," she spat back at him. "I wasn't looking for _you_, I was looking for Quintus."

"Why?" Quintus looked up at her.

Lucy stared back at him surprised. "Because you're the praetor, you're going to led us to victory and take back the camp."

Quintus shook his head. "There's no victory to be won here."

"What?" Romulus and Lucy exclaimed together.

"We have already lost."

"But−but−You can't give up now!" Lucy stammered.

"It's already done."

"Will you stop your muttering and answered us?" Romulus shouted.

Quintus looked at him and studied his face. "You're too young to be a soldier. Who are you?"

"He's no one," splat Lucy.

Romulus glared back at them. "I'm Romulus Grace, son of Jason and Reyna Grace, two of the greatest praetors that have ever had the honor of serving Camp Jupiter, and you, sir, are a disgrace to your title and to Rome."

Quintus looked guilty at him as began to recognize who he was. "Did they attack your house?"

"Yeah, they did. How−" Romulus started, but stopped when he read Quintus' face. "Did you send the soldiers to attack my family?"

"No, I didn't send them. But I did tell them where to find you," he quietly admitted. "They were looking for someone named Romulus, and you were the only I heard of in recent history."

Romulus clenched his fist. "My father might be dead because of you."

"I'm sorry. They were going to start killing people."

Romulus charged at him, but Lucy stopped him. "Romulus, don't. He's the praetor."

"I don't care if he's King of France. He hurt my family."

Quintus looked at Lucy. "This one sure has some bite."

"It's a shame he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut," growled Lucy.

Romulus yanked his arm out of Lucy's hand. "You're going to everything you know right now. What did you mean when you said that it wasn't their bodies?"

It seemed that Romulus' outburst finally caught Quintus' attention because he finally gave a clear answer. "They're being possessed."

"Possessed by what?"

"I don't know, some dark old focus. Something from the past," murmured Quintus. "Cornelia would know."

"Why are they here?"

"That Brennus character said that they want gold."

"Gold? What do they want with gold?" Romulus demanded.

"They want to build a city of their own. He said that he wouldn't burn down New Rome if I paid him off. Once I give them the gold, he said they would just leave."

"And what about the soldiers they are possessing?" Lucy asked.

Quintus shrugged. "I guess they will take them with them."

"And you're ok with that?" Romulus exclaimed.

"I don't know what else to do. They were going to destroy New Rome. My whole family lives there." Quintus replied quietly. "I don't want to be remembered as the Praetor who let New Rome fall."

"No, you're just going to be remembered as the Praetor who let Camp Jupiter fall," retorted Romulus.

"They weren't able to possess everyone. There are few soldiers tied in the Mess Hall. It didn't work on them for some reason." He glanced at Lucy.

"So, you're just going to let them walk over camp with half Legion and all of our gold?" Romulus snapped.

"Roman soldier took an oath to give their bodies and souls to honor and protection of Rome. It's unfortunate that in this case that oath is going to be taken so literally." Quintus sighed. "They'll be back any minute now to receive the payment."

Romulus growled and headed towards the cell door. "Well, if you're not going to do anything about it, I will."

"What are you doing? You can't leave," stated Quintus.

"Yes I am," he growled angrily, pushing pass Lucy.

She grabbed his arm again and pulled him back into the cell.

Quintus finally stood up. "If you come back and find that you have escape, they're going to freak out. The deal must go occurring to plan."

Romulus tried to wrestle Lucy off him, but she wouldn't budge. Then she pushed him onto the floor, ran out of the cell, and slammed the door shut.

"Sorry Romulus," she smirked. She didn't look sorry at all.

"Lucy, you open this door right now," yelled Romulus, shaking the bars.

"Lacy, take the keys back where you found them, then find a quiet place and stay out of sight," Quintus ordered.

Lucy nodded, ignoring the fact he once again mispronounced her name. "Be careful, Quintus."

Romulus watched in disbelief as she walked up the stairs and left. "Lucy! Lucy! Come back!" How could she take orders from clueless Quintus? She was the stupidest, most insane girl he had ever met. He laid his head against the bars. He didn't think this day could get much worse, but he was, of course, wrong.

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_**Hey guys. I am really struggling with finishing this story. I really want to, and I have everything planned out, but I am lacking in motivation. Also I had a lot say that they want me to continue with this story, but I only had two people review last chapter. If was boring, didn't make sense please tell me because I really suck at writing non-fluff scenes. I appreciate any feedback. **_


	11. Remus X1

_**I really appreciated all the advice I received last chapter. It really helped me. I am already half way through the next chapter so it looks like I am going to updating soon sometime soon. Unfortunately, I have hit a wall on my Secret Surprise Story and have no clue what to do. If you have ideas please feel free to share them with me, just don't say Capture the Flag because that has been down WAY too many times. This is a bit explaner chapter. I hope everything makes sense...**_

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REMUS

There was nothing special about this fire. Its flames were not green or blue or any other color in between. The heat that rose of from its hearth was neither warmer nor colder than the average fire, and its light did not brighten the room in a special or unique way. It was just a fire, yet somewhere within its flames burned the heart of Rome.

As Remus watched the flames flickered freely around its mantle, he struggled to keep his eyelids from drooping down over his eyes. Cleo sat by his side. Having already been defeated in this matter, she rested her head on his arm and was lightly snoring. Remus forced himself to stay awake. He kept his attention on the ring of young women sitting around the fire in front of them. They were dressed in traditional white garments with white veils covering their faces. Remus had never met a Vestal, or even been this close to one before, but he had heard of them. They were the Roman equivalence of the Hunters, minus the immortality. Young women who have pledged their souls to a goddess, sworn off all men, and gave up their lives up for a greater cause, in this case it was to care and protect the Great Flame of Rome.

"Have you ever visited the flame before?"

Remus jumped to attention. Cornelia had returned with two cups of tea in her hands.

"I didn't think so. Most people don't. Its bit too traditional for even a true born Roman, but there's nothing to fear from it. It breathes life into to our culture, keeps our passion burning, and gives us strength to continue to strive for glory and honor." She placed the cup down next his knee, and sat down next to him. "I love watching the flames dance. It's amazing think about all those thousands of years ago, back when the flame when first lit and it's still burning today. Hopefully, it will continue to burn long after we are all gone."

Remus stared back at her as she talked about fire and Rome, unsure what to say.

"I thought of about joining the Vestals after I retire," Cornelia continued. "But forever is a long time to live without the company of men. But I guess you do get an endless supply of tea." She smiled at him before taking a sip from her tea.

Remus wasn't sure what to make of her. Her physical appearances matched the Cornelia he had met all those months ago when she had visited his school. Her black hair curled around her head like a lion's mane and her copper skin was the same shade of brown he remembered. But Lucy had told them that she had died. Did Lucy lie to them or were his eyes playing a trick on him? His mother always told him not to speak to strangers, but she never said anything about dead people.

Cornelia's eyes soften as she looked at him as if she was reading his thoughts. "I'm not going to hurt you, little one."

"Lucy said you died tonight," he stated. "She told us that you were stabbed by the Roman soldiers who took over the camp."

"Lucy told you what she thought she saw."

"Then what actually happen?"

"Oh, I stabbed by a Roman soldier," she replied calmly, taking another sip of tea.

Remus squirmed uncomfortable on the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm not following you."

Cornelia sighed. "Tell me Remus, have you ever heard any rumors about me?"

"Only that you are a kind and sincere praetor."

She smiled at him. "I guess you are too young to remember, but back when your parents were battling the giants, the Doors of Death were open. That event caused a kind of stirring amongst the God of Death's children. We tend to keep to ourselves, preferring the life of solidary to city life, but when father calls you answer. He told his us to join Camp Jupiter and keep an eye out for escaped souls. Years passed, and the order still holds. I guess somebody has to round up the souls who escape through the open veil. It's not too bad though, and it has definitely gained us more acceptances in the eyes of Romans."

"You're a daughter of Pluto?"

"Most people don't bring it up, but there are more of us than you think, especially nowadays," commented Cornelia as she studied his face carefully. "Are you frightened?"

"No," Remus quickly replied. "Hazel has always been kind to us. She makes us cookies."

Cornelia chuckled. "Yes, Hazel is very sweet. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few times."

"But that still doesn't explain why you're not dead."

"It's part of my abilities," she explained. "As you know, children of major gods sometimes have special abilities like your father or Hazel."

"And my sister," he added glancing at her sleeping figure next to him. "Cleo can produce lighting."

"Yes, like that."

"Can you make gold and jewels appear that will kill you when you touch them?" Remus asked. His parents had drilled into him at a very young age never to touch anything he found on the ground, just in case it was one of Hazel's creations.

"No," Cornelia replied quietly. Her smile disappeared, and there was a long paused before she continued. "I can create illusions of death."

Remus listened to her words very carefully. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means I can make someone appear like they are dying without the actual dying part which allows them to escape any situation. Think of it as a kind of deleted scene where you survive but only you can watch." Cornelia quietly answered then added quietly, "I have never done it to myself before tonight.

"Why not?" Remus asked. "It seems like a very useful skill to have."

"Because my illusions are not just fragments of my imagination, they linked to the truth. From the time you come into this world, the Fates have already decided how you are going to exit it. My illusions are just sneak peeks."

"So, you're actually going to be stabbed to death one day."

"Apparently," Cornelia slowly answered. She looked back at the fire and added, "Maybe not for a few years, or by a Roman soldier, but someday yes. You can't escape fate."

Remus felt sorry for her. He didn't know if he wanted to know how he was going to die. On one hand, it would be useful to know because you would know that nothing else could harm you. He wouldn't have to be so afraid all the time. But it would also be very depressing. What if you were killed by something stupid like being hit in the head by a coconut or accidently walking off a cliff? It would be very depressing to live the rest of your knowing that you are going die stupidly.

"I knew something was wrong this morning when I woke up, children of Pluto can sense these kinds of things, but Quintus wouldn't listen to me. He always hates it when I talked about my powers in front of him, says they're not right," Cornelia mumbled. "But a dark force has overcome Camp Jupiter."

"So, this dark force," started Remus. "It's from Hades?"

"Yes, it probably escaped when the Doors of Death were open," answered Cornelia.

"But the Doors of Death were open in my parent's days," injected Remus.

"For a soul that has been suffering in Tartarus for a thousand years, ten years is a quick nap," replied Cornelia. "Perhaps they forgot to set their clocks back for Daylight Savings."

"You said soul this time," commented Remus. "Is it a dark force or souls that have taken over Camp Jupiter?"

"Both," she answered. "It's difficult to explain, but if soul has been in Tartarus long enough, it loses its human traits. But whatever it is, it probably started out as a human army that was defeated by the Roman during the Roman Empire. Now they're back, to seek their revenge."

"So, who are they really?"

"I don't know actually. That's what I came to the Capital to find out. They had an ancient accent, and spoke about a battle. Also they were looking for someone named Romulus."

"Romulus?" Remus croaked.

"Yes, but they weren't talking your brother. This Romulus was the person who defeated them the first time they died."

"So, you're talking about the original Romulus? The one who founded the first Rome?"

"That's what I had thought at first, but I have gone through every document of history that we have about him, and I can't find anything that matches up. They must be speaking about another Romulus."

"I've never heard of another Romulus in history," said Remus.

"Nor have I," admitted Cornelia. "But there has to something. If we can just found out who they are, maybe we can discover a way to defeat them or at least figure out what they are planning."

"My brother followed Lucy back to camp. Do you think they will hurt him if they find out that his name is Romulus?"

"I don't know Remus, but I'm sure your brother will be safe so long as he keeps his mouth shut."

"You obliviously don't know my brother," replied Remus nervously. He knew he was going to regret letting his brother run off on his own.

Cornelia gave him a reassuring look. "We will find a way to break the hold the dark force has on Camp Jupiter, and get your brother back. I'm going to return to my research now, and as soon as I find an answer I will tell you."

"I can help if you like. I'm a really good reader."

"That's really kind of you, but I think you have done enough. I'm the praetor. It's my job to protect you. You're not a soldier yet, Remus." Cornelia smiled at him. "Why don't take a rest like your sister? Just make sure you stay inside the Capital. The geese will protect you."

"The geese?" Remus repeated, remembering the funny circle of white birds surrounding the building.

"They're Juno's geese. When Camp Jupiter was first attack, the geese appeared and woke the Vestals. With the geese's powers, they were able to form a magical border around the Capital that the possessed soldiers can't cross."

Remus cringed when he heard the name Queen Goddess' name. Juno was the patron goddess of his father which basically meant that she forced him to go all these awful quests for her. He never spoke very highly of her.

"Do the geese usually protect New Rome?"

"No," answered Cornelia. "But the Vestals seem certain that Juno sent them to protect us."

Remus rolled his eyes. Of course, the helpful queen would send farm birds to help an invaded city.

As Cornelia began to walk away, Remus was overcome with loneliness. He wished Cornelia would let him help look through the documents, just so he could be with her instead of sitting alone in this cold stone building. Suddenly, the darkness around seemed more sinister than it had before. He looked at Cleo sleeping beside him. He couldn't protect her. He didn't know how to. He already failed his brother. He should have known better than to let his brother go off on his own. Romulus needed him. He hoped Lucy was keeping him in check. Then he thought his parents and tears formed in his eyes.

Cornelia must have heard his sniffing, because she came back. "What's wrong Remus?"

"I want my parents," he cried. He wanted to bury himself in his mother's arms and forget that all this had happen.

Cornelia bent down beside him and rubbed his arm. "I know, little one. But this will all be over soon."

"My brother said my father was hurt," Remus choked. "He could be dead."

"Your father is an amazing fighter. Both of your parents are. I'm sure they're fine."

"Is there any way to get a message to them? To make sure they're alright?"

"No, I don't think so. If they have been capture, it wouldn't be a good idea to contact them just in case their captures overhear your location." Cornelia stated. "Remus, I need you to promise me that you will stay within the circle. You're parents fought to keep you safe, they wouldn't like it if you put yourself or your sister in danger."

"I guess you're right," Remus replied slowly, rubbing his eyes.

"Why don't you drink your tea? It will calm you down." She stood up again. "I'll be back soon."

Remus watched her go, and then he looked back at the fire. The Vestals hadn't moved a muscle since he had arrived. He followed Cornelia's advice and gently sipped his tea. Pretty soon after that his eyes began to close again, so he laid down beside his sister and fell asleep.

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_**Is the story becoming more clear now? I hope so. Please review.**_


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